Why Kosta Nedeljkovic may have lined up Matty Cash for new Aston Villa role

Aston Villa talent Kosta Nedeljkovic did more with his time at RB Leipzig last season than many realise.

Signed by Aston Villa in January 2024, Nedeljkovic arrived at Villa Park with a reputation as one of Serbian football's most promising young talents.

Now 20, he's still very much held in that regard, having already been capped by his nation 11 times at senior international level.

Nedeljkovic has made 10 career competitive appearances for Aston Villa, all of which came in the 2024-25 season, with five of those being in the Premier League.

February 2025 saw him loaned out to German Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, before once again joining them on loan for the duration of last season.

And, whilst he may only have made five Bundesliga appearances in 2025-26, that was all the Villa defender needed to show his obvious potential.

How Kosta Nedeljkovic surprisingly ranked among Bundesliga's best

Villa News has discussed Nedeljkovic potentially facing his last pre-season chance with Aston Villa this summer.

Indeed, Villa Park chiefs will have been hoping for much more than a mere 252 minutes of Bundesliga action for the young right-back last season.

However, whilst he may not have seen much of the pitch, when he did, Nedeljkovic didn't waste it.

As per FotMob, he won 100 per cent of his aerial duels in the Bundesliga last season, whilst his 62.5 per cent long ball accuracy placed him in the leading 7.7 percentile of all right-backs in the German top division.

On top of that, he also committed just 0.36 fouls per 90, made 3.57 clearances, delivered a cross success rate of 33.3 per cent and completed 87.1 per cent of his passes, all of which were among the best in his position respectively.

Those are the kind of numbers that suggest there's definitely a very good player in there for Aston Villa to unlock, which might just be a task for Matty Cash.

Why Matty Cash could take Nedeljkovic under his wing

Back in October last year, Cash inked an extension at Villa Park that would keep him in the West Midlands until the summer of 2029.

With his long-term future now committed to the Villains, the 28-year-old is evidently the player Unai Emery trusts to continue leading his side forward at the right-back position.

There will, of course, come a time where the Poland international needs to pass the baton on, and in an ideal world, Villa will have a ready-made replacement ready to succeed him.

Luckily for Villa, Nedeljkovic is also contracted with them until the summer of 2029, possibly providing them with a natural transition point between these two players.

Between now and then, Cash could adopt the role as Nedeljkovic's tutor, with the youngster learning from him as his deputy rather than heading back out on loan.

It's what he was brought in to eventually become, and now armed with some encouraging per 90 numbers in the Bundesliga, Emery may feel ready to put this long-term plan in motion from this summer onwards.