Unai Emery saw his Aston Villa players get back to winning ways as goals from Jacob Ramsey, Jaden Philogene and Cameron Archer secured a 3-2 triumph over Athletic Bilbao.
Aston Villa faced Athletic Bilbao at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium fresh off the back of a summer tour of the United States that saw Unai Emery‘s side lose all three games.
Villa were much improved against strong opponents on Wednesday night, edging a tight encounter that will stand Emery’s players in good stead ahead of the new season.
There were a number of strong displays as players look to stake their claim to start against West Ham in just over a week, with Lucas Digne one player who stood out.
However, it was another full-back who received praise for his performance in the Bilbao win.
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Kosta Nedeljkovic continues to impress for Aston Villa against Athletic Bilbao
Digne started at left-back, with Matty Cash the man given the nod to start on the right off the back four.
After a concerning loss of form at the end of last season, Cash failed to really impress against Bilbao before being replaced by 18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic.
The young Serb who Villa signed in January before sending back to Red Star Belgrade on loan has been one of the revelations of this summer for Emery and again showed against Bilbao he should be in contention to start when the Premier League commences.
Villa journalist John Townley was certainly impressed by what he saw from Nedeljkovic, posting on ‘X’ after the game: “Kosta Nedeljkovic’s physical profile at 18 years of age is incredible. He makes things happen and has the ability to take players out of the game with his pace alone.
“An exciting prospect sure to be making an impression on Unai Emery. Looks like a great find from Villa.”
Nedeljkovic emergence means Matty Cash’s Aston Villa days numbered
Whilst Cash has been a decent servant to Villa since arriving in 2020, Nedeljkovic’s performances are becoming impossible to ignore.
Early in the summer Villa were linked with moves for right-backs such as Denzel Dumfries and Jeremie Frimpong as Emery looked to find an upgrade for the position.
However, Nedeljkovic could now have saved Villa a lot of money as the youngster who was signed as one for the future has shown he can be a starter in the present.
Cash will need to step up to the competition or could risk being left behind by a Villa side who are never going to stand still under Emery.
