Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade, with the deal said to be worth around £8m in total.
The 18-year-old has made quite an impression early on in his career, as despite having only made 18 senior appearances for Red Star while being capped at U19s level for Serbia, he has caught the attention of Villa’s scouting department.
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As per the club’s statement, we’ve now completed the deal to sign him, although he will return to the Serbian giants for the remainder of the current season on loan.
That’s sensible management from Villa as he’ll be able to continue to play a prominent role and gain valuable experience to help with his development, and Unai Emery will no doubt then take a closer look at him in the summer.
It’s both an exciting and intriguing signing from the club, as Nedeljkovic has a lot of talent and potential, but given his age and lack of experience at the top level over a lengthier period, it’s still somewhat of a gamble given the touted price-tag.
Nevertheless, Monchi and our scouting department, in conjunction with Emery, will have done extensive research and analysis on him, and they evidently all believe that he will be a crucial addition to the squad for the long-term future and will address an important area of the squad that needed strengthening.
While the club’s statement notes that he has moved for an undisclosed fee, the Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell has reported that the deal is worth around £8m in total, as it’s likely that the structure of the agreement will involve an upfront fee with add-ons.
Emery told the media in his pre-Everton press conference just over a week ago that Calum Chambers is free to leave Villa, and so if he finds a new club this month, youngster Kaine Kesler-Hayden is set to provide competition and cover behind Matty Cash between now and the end of the season, having been recalled from his loan stint at Plymouth.
Beyond that, Nedeljkovic will hope to compete with the pair in pre-season ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, and time will tell how the pecking order looks heading into next season, with Ezri Konsa likely to be able to operate in his preferred centre-half position instead of being shifted across to right-back.
