Aston Villa defender Kosta Nedeljkovic has reportedly emerged as a transfer target for Osasuna in the summer transfer window.
The 20-year-old joined us from Red Star Belgrade in January 2024, and while the plan seemed clear as he returned to the Serbian giants on loan for the remainder of that campaign, he has faced an uncertain future at Villa since.
Having been limited to just 10 appearances for the club, he spent time on loan at RB Leipzig last season but they opted against triggering a clause in that agreement to make his temporary stint a permanent one.
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In turn, Nedeljkovic has returned to Villa for pre-season this summer and despite impressing against Walsall and Porto thus far, it still doesn’t seem as though he will be able to convince Unai Emery that his long-term future lies at Villa.
According to Matteo Moretto, an alternative solution has emerged for the talented Serbian defender, as Osasuna are said to be interested in him as part of their three-man shortlist to bring in a new right-back this summer.
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Time will tell if Nedeljkovic’s performances for the remainder of pre-season convince the La Liga outfit to make him their priority, but if that does prove to be the case, it will be disappointing to see him leave.
Ultimately, if he isn’t doing enough to convince Emery to make him a back-up and competition for Matty Cash, then we should trust the Villa boss and his judgement on the player who he has seen in training and in games.
However, he continues to look like a top talent with real potential, and rather than looking to sign another right-back this summer, we could have a solution internally already, allowing us to focus on other areas of the squad.
It remains to be seen if Osasuna step up their touted pursuit and submit an offer for Nedeljkovic in the coming weeks, but he’ll no doubt continue to push and stake a claim to stay at Villa with his performances in our upcoming pre-season outings, or at least put himself in the shop window and try to find a more suitable home where he’ll have more chance of playing a prominent role.
