Kosta Nedeljkovic will be Aston Villa’s first acquisition of the January transfer window, according to football transfer news analyst Fabrizio Romano.
Despite having played one extra game than Liverpool, the Premier League title contenders are now in third place in the standings. Unai Emery’s team has not added any players this month.
Romano stated that Nedeljkovic’s transfer from Serbian team Crvena Zvezda will not cost the Premier League team more than €9 million. Nedeljkovic is almost certain to join the team.
“Aston Villa are closing in on deal to sign 2005 born right back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Crvena Zvezda!” he says, taking to X. He will remain with the Serbian team till the completion of the current campaign.
“Last-stage discussions for less than €9 million.”
“Villa has been watching Kosta for a while now.”
According to data analytics specialists SciSports, Nedeljkovic resembles Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold in his right-back position.
The 18-year-old is a deep-dwelling attacker who enjoys testing the opposition all the time.
In the Serbian Super Liga, he has excelled this season with his ball retention and crossing, recording one assist in 12 games.
Even after he joins in the summer, Nedeljkovic is not expected to be a key member of Emery’s first team. He has only appeared in 18 senior games for Red Star, four of which have been in the Champions League against Manchester City and RB Leipzig. Despite this, he still lacks a great deal of senior football experience.
Nevertheless, he is a player who has advanced quickly this season, as seen by the jump in his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) to €3.2 million last month.
Even if Aston Villa may have to pay more, should he keep up his fast rate of learning, the transfer fee may still seem like a good deal years down the road.
