‘Unbelievable’ – Dan Bardell thrilled after Aston Villa confirm brand new signing
Dan Bardell thrilled as Aston Villa confirm Kosta Nedeljkovic January signing from Red Star Belgrade at Villa Park
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Dan Bardell is thrilled that Aston Villa are looking to bring in players for the future following the signing of Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade.
Villa announced the signing of the 18-year-old right-back on their website on Monday (22 January) as they confirmed he will return to the Serbian side for the rest of the season on loan.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted on 15 January that the fee would be about €9million (£7.7million) after the Villans have been scouting the Serbian U-19 international for a “long time”.
Bardell revealed that the club had been looking at young right-backs in La Liga before confirming the signing of Nedeljkovic, but he admitted that the deal “excites” him.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I kind of like that Villa are looking towards the future and are buying players now that aren’t necessarily for now. I think that’s what good teams do.
“It’s like Brighton’s recruitment is probably the modern-day model that you would look at and say their recruitment has been unbelievable over the past two or three years.
“I think to pick someone up at 18, who is already in the first team at Red Star, he’s already played Champions League football. It’s a position that I know Villa have been looking at in terms of trying to get a young, up-and-coming right-back in for the future to compete with Matty Cash.
“They’ve been looking in La Liga to try and find someone and, obviously, haven’t come up with anything of substance and now they’ve pulled in this guy.
“I’m not a regular watcher of the Serbian league, but he sounds like he’s a good prospect and he’s highly rated. He’s already got some games under his belt at a high level, he actually played against Manchester City in the Champions League.
“This is a signing very much for the future. He’ll go back and finish the season at Red Star and then Villa will see where he’s at in pre-season.
“But it’s more the type of signing it is that excites me, rather than that I know anything really concrete about him. It looks like he’ll become the third Serbian player to play for Villa after Savo Milosevic and Sasa Curcic.”
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has reacted as an “unhappy” Villa ace is closing in on a Villa Park loan exit.
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