Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Wed 18 March 2026 14:30, UK

Valencia are lining up a double swoop for Aston Villa duo Andres Garcia and Kosta Nedeljkovic ahead of the summer transfer window, according to reports in Spain.

Right-back Garcia has made just six appearances at Villa Park this season, totalling a meagre 63 minutes across all competitions, and looks likely to be sold.

Similarly, Nedeljkovic also faces an uncertain future in the Premier League, having remained at RB Leipzig after his initial loan spell during the second half of last campaign.

While Unai Emery had surprisingly blocked Garcia from leaving in January, he is unlikely to stand in his way again as Villa draw up their own transfer plans.

Judging from fresh speculation, Nedeljkovic could also be joining him.

How much will Aston Villa demand?

According to Levante EMV, Valencia want to overhaul their right-back options, and both Garcia and Nedeljkovic would bring with them welcome top-flight quality.

The publication describes the former as “a priority” despite Emery resisting, but they would need to table a significant amount to wrap up one deal, let alone two.

Villa, it is said, are expected to hold out for Premier League fees, which may well prove out of the Spaniards’ price range, despite their keen interest in both defenders.

They do have other targets, with Mallorca’s Pablo Maffeo on their radar, and are prepared to walk away from negotiations with Villa if a compromise can’t be reached.

It is not currently known whether Garcia and Nedeljkovic would be willing to push to leave Villa Park, with their respective situations to be assessed at the end of the season.

Selling Morgan Rogers could also help with the rebuild, meanwhile.

Villa punished for costly transfer missteps

Villa splashed out around £7m to sign Garcia from Levante in January 2025, but he has barely featured this campaign. Indeed, he has never started regularly since joining.

Now usurped by Matty Cash, the 23-year-old has been largely restricted to a watching brief, worsened by a hamstring injury which ruled him out for several weeks.

He has shown plenty of promising glimpses in B6, but the fact that Emery clearly doesn’t rate him is a damning indictment of the decision to sign him in the first place.

The same applies to Nedeljkovic, who arrived from Red Star Belgrade in January 2024 before, ironically, being replaced by Garcia. He will not join RB Leipzig permanently.

Indeed, his 10 starts in the Bundesliga this season prove he is at a crossroads in his career, with his time at Villa having never really burst into life. They will be keen to move him on.

Both deals wasted money at a time when they simply couldn’t afford to be throwing cash down the drain. These missteps simply have to change – and soon.