Aston Villa star Kosta Nedeljkovic sends message to Unai Emery with Serbia showing v Spain
Kosta Nedeljkovic has shown Unai Emery what he can offer Aston Villa with a superb defensive performance for Serbia against Spain.
The Eagles have started their Nations League campaign with a hard-fought point after a 0-0 draw against the European Champions.
La Roja boasted talents like Nico Williams, Yamine Lamal and Dani Olmo in attack but failed to breach the Serbia back line.
Aston Villa star Nedeljkovic featured from the start and impressed with his defensive output on Thursday 5 September.
Aston Villa star Kosta Nedeljkovic shines for Serbia v Spain
The youngster has been trusted sparingly by Emery to begin the season with him yet to start despite an injury to Matty Cash.
Against Spain, Nedeljkovic was able to make a claim for a starting role at Villa Park on his international debut for his country.
What will have impressed the Villans’ manager is his 86 per cent pass accuracy [FotMob] which is a necessary factor of his build-up and tactical approach.
The 18-year-old was able to keep up this side of his game while being solid defensively throughout the 90 minutes.
This saw him make 3 clearances, 1 headed clearance and complete 2 recoveries which shows the effort he was putting at the back in for his country.
Despite being young and potentially less physical than older players, the Villa star was able to win three duels with a 100 per cent success rate.
Comparing this to Lamare Bogarde against Leicester City who had a success rate of 38 per cent [FotMob], Nedeljkovic looks like a better bet for a start under Emery moving forward.
In other Aston Villa news, Chris Heck has been lambasted over the latest Champions League announcement.
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