La Liga transfer falls through for Aston Villa player who’s tipped for big things
Aston Villa fans will be keeping a close eye on Kosta Nedeljkovic’s development on loan at RB Leipzig.
The 20-year-old returned to the Bundesliga side on loan in July, having spent the second half of last season at Red Bull Arena.
Nedeljkovic has become a bit of a forgotten figure at Villa Park, but he could yet become an important first-team player down the line.
Indeed, there was recently a suggestion Aston Villa could recall Nedeljkovic from Leipzig, although that does not now look like being the case.
And the right-back is now at the centre of more transfer talk, with Valencia seemingly taking a keen interest.
Valencia eye Kosta Nedeljkovic transfer
Nedeljkovic has played just five Bundesliga matches for Leipzig this campaign and could clearly do with playing more regularly.
As per Radio Marca via X on Saturday, LaLiga side Valencia wanted to give Nedeljkovic the chance to do exactly that.
However, the same report adds that any deal has now fallen through already. The reasons behind the collapse are not clear.
It means that, unless a bid is forthcoming from elsewhere in the next 48 hours or so, Nedeljkovic will be remaining in Germany with Leipzig.
Villa‘s stance on the situation is also unclear, but Unai Emery will no doubt just be eager to see the youngster playing regularly in order to blossom.
Who is Nedeljkovic similar to?
Nedeljkovic has made 10 appearances for Villa – half of those in the Premier League – but not a great amount is known about the £8million defender.
There has certainly been plenty of praise from his homeland of Serbia, with journalist Kristijan Plazonja likening him to Inter Milan star Denzel Dumfries.
“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,” Plazonja told Birmingham Live in January 2024.
“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.
“Don’t expect him to invert, or make play from deep. He’s very much an overlapping fullback with an incredible engine.”
That is high praise indeed, and while the youngster has not properly pushed on since those comments were made, it is clear to see he is a talent.
And after a proposed move to Valencia collapsed before it had truly got off the ground, the hope now will be that Nedeljkovic breaks into the Leipzig team and returns to Villa Park a better player this summer.
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