Who is Kosta Nedeljkovic? The latest Aston Villa transfer news from BirminghamLive, as Serbian football expert Kristijan Plazonja offers the dirt on the man headed to Villa Park.
Kosta Nedeljkovic is likely to become Aston Villa’s first January acquisition, and Serbian football expert Kristijan Plazonja has given us the information on what to expect from the teenage star.
Nedeljkovic turned 18 last month and will spend the remainder of the season on loan at his present club Crvena Zvezda after Villa agreed to a £6.5 million agreement with the Serbian champions. Many fans are unfamiliar with the highly-rated right-back, but he is a guy Villa has been following for some time.
“His athleticism is a key quality, he is tall, fast, he has a wide frame and lots of stamina,” Kristijan explains. “He has excellent movement without the ball and also has a lot of untapped defensive potential, which was a key quality in the youth leagues, but he’s still adjusting to the tempo of it at senior level.
“Kosta is very intelligent and is aware of his current limitations. He will always try to do what’s best for the team and has no ego. The technical part of his game requires some refinement, including his end-product.
“The attacking movement he has and the threat he causes, plus his athleticism reminds of Denzel Dumfries, but I’d say Kosta is more intelligent as a footballer. Right now he has much less of a goal threat.
“In the right hands, he’s definitely a top ten Premier League player, perhaps more, but it depends on the development in his position. At the very highest level, the full-back role is evolving, however he’s a more traditional right-back.
“Don’t expect him to invert, or make play from deep. He’s very much an overlapping fullback with an incredible engine.”
Crvena Zvezda have a long history of developing talented youngsters, including Nemanja Matic, Nemanja Vidic, Marko Grujic, Ivan Ilic, and Luka Jovic. Kristijan believes Crvena Zvezda have agreed to sell Nedeljkovic too early given that he might represent his nation at EURO 2024.
Asked if the fee was too cheap, Kristijan says: “Yes and no. Yes, because he’s only just broken through at Red Star and no, because the man running the club, Zvezdan Terzic, is always focused on the short-term, instead of building something for the future.
“Based on what he’s played so far, it’s a fair transfer fee, but the chances are he’ll be Serbia’s starting right-back at the Euros as he has little competition. His price would’ve no doubt gone up. I dare say by the summer he would’ve cost at least €15million.”
Given the small fee, there is little risk for Villa and a huge upside if Nedeljkovic can fulfil his potential after enjoying a meteoric rise in the last two years.
“In May 2022 he played his last match in the U17s and 20 months later, he’s signed with Kosta Nedeljkovic. about to become a senior international and possibly play at the Euros,” Kristijan adds.
