When Aston Villa confirmed the signing of Kosta Nedeljkovic in January, there was a sense of hope that we’d landed a long-term solution at right-back.
The 18-year-old was inexperienced and continuing to learn his trade at Red Star Belgrade, and so the decision to loan him back to the Serbian giants was a smart one, as it allowed him to continue to develop and improve his game, knowing that a switch to Villa was to come.
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As per the Athletic, Villa were said to have paid around £8m to land his signature, and so it was real show of faith and belief in his potential and ability, while simultaneously being one of the big first tests of Monchi and our recruitment team in terms of being able to identify top young talent that could go on to have a big future with us.
Admittedly, it’s still early days and no major judgement or assessments can be made based on a few pre-season outings, but Nedeljkovic has undoubtedly made a positive first impression as a Villa player both on and off the pitch thus far.
On the pitch, he has been consistently impressive when featuring. His positive intent in his actions with the ball is having an effective influence on our play, whether it’s a pass forward to push us up the pitch or an energetic burst up the right flank himself, he’s providing Emery with a key tactical solution with his ability in possession as part of our desire to build out from the back with composure and accuracy.
While he still has improvements to make defensively to shore things up in the backline, his recovery pace has been very important to allow him to get back into position quickly and limit the threat that comes down that side of the pitch. That positional awareness and intelligence will be key in his bid to establish his place in Emery’s XI.
In turn, he has shown promising signs thus far in both phases of the game, and while Matty Cash is still arguably first-choice at right-back, Nedeljkovic has staked him claim and applied pressure to his Villa teammates to give Emery something to think about as we edge closer to the start of the new season.
Further, his character and personality off the pitch are really starting to shine through. His Q&A with VillaTV was a wonderful read, as he displayed maturity, determination and a desire to give everything to make his time with us a success, and it’s wonderful to hear a young player have that mentality and drive, as it also helps make him an instant favourite with the fans.
As per Emery after our defeat to Club América, the Villa boss was unsurprisingly complimentary of the Serbian defender because of his personality and willingness to learn and improve, and so Nedeljkovic really has shown encouraging early promise, and he’ll hopefully continue to go from strength to strength in the coming months.
“His adaptation is going well, but he needs time to understand tactically, to adapt to us,” he told the media at his post-match press conference on Saturday. “Of course, he’s 18 years old, he’s very young, but I’m very happy because he’s a very good person, good professional, he wants to learn everyday in training sessions or playing matches.
“In the analysis of every match he’s being very alert to everything to improve himself, and this is the way. He needs time, but I’m happy with him.”
Even the most influential players in our squad needed time to adapt and execute Emery’s ideas and demands effectively and consistently, and so it’s no surprise that the Basque coach spoke with caution in terms of reiterating that Nedeljkovic still has a lot to take on board.
However, there is no denying the positive progress we’ve already seen and that’s down his character and quality, and so seeing Nedeljkovic settle in so impressively has been one of, if not the most, promising developments over the course of our pre-season thus far.
