Aston Villa got their pre-season underway with a comfortable 3-0 win against Walsall on Wednesday.
Morgan Rogers bagged a brace for Aston Villa, before Louie Barry netted the third third to add the icing on the cake for the Midlands side.
Several new faces featured for the first time under Unai Emery, including right-back, Kosta Nedeljkovic.
The 18-year-old signed for Aston Villa in January from Red Star Belgrade and was loaned back for the rest of the campaign.
Now, Nedeljkovic will be hoping to make a breakthrough at Villa Park and trying to impress Emery ahead of the team’s Champions League campaign.
The Villa boss played two different XIs in each half, with Nedeljkovic being part of Villa’s second XI and proving to be a ‘livewire’
It’s only a small sample and it’s just a pre-season opener to get the legs going, but Villa fans very much liked what they saw – Leon Bailey was spotted ‘gesturing’ something to Nedeljkovic pre-match.
Matty Cash, who wore the armband, started the game at right-back, but it was Nedeljkovic who caught the attention.
What has been most impressive about Villa’s new boy is his attitude and his three-word Instagram post after the Walsall game is one fans will just love: ‘I like it’.
Aston Villa beat Walsall in pre-season friendly
Aston Villa fans should be excited about Kosta Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic made an impressive ahead of his move to Villa: ‘I expect myself to be in the starting XI from August’ and made it clear that he isn’t here to warm the bench’.
That type of attitude is needed at Villa Park, especially with the team set to play in the Champions League.
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Cash is the club’s starting right-back, but Ezri Konsa performed better in that role last season.
There is an opening because you feel Konsa is better at centre-back for Villa and there has been talk of Cash possibly leaving Villa, so this could prove to be an interesting one.
