The 22-year-old emerged as one of the top talents from our youth system in recent years, having captained us to FA Youth Cup success in 2021 before enjoying multiple productive loan spells elsewhere to further enhance his potential.
_**READ MORE: [Discussions ongoing as Villa could negotiate permanent exit for top talent](https://talk-villa.com/aston-villa-transfer-news-kosta-nedeljkovic-rb-leipzig-talks/)**_
It had been hoped that he might be able to make the breakthrough at senior level under Unai Emery, but it appears as though he is set for a permanent departure this summer instead.
According to [The Telegraph’s John Percy](https://x.com/JPercyTelegraph/status/1939601499346088404), Villa have agreed a deal worth £3.5m to sell Kesler-Hayden to Coventry, and he’s expected to undergo his medical on Monday.
Aside from the disappointment of seeing another one of our top young talents leave the club, that fee arguably feels too low given his potential ceiling, and so it will be interesting to see if there any clauses included in the agreement, be it a sell-on percentage or a buy-back if we wish to monitor his progress.
Nevertheless, with Matty Cash and Andres Garcia providing Emery with competition and depth at right-back in our current first-team set-up, coupled with a decision still being needed on Kosta Nedeljkovic’s future, Kesler-Hayden would have sat far down the pecking order had he returned to Villa this summer, and so without any movement in terms of exits for those ahead of him, this deal appears to make sense for all concerned.
It’s unclear at this stage as to whether the transfer fee involved in this deal addresses our reported PSR concerns with the June 30 deadline now upon us, but there will no doubt be further clarity provided by the club in due course as it’s hoped that the focus, at least from an outside perspective, switches to incomings and how we can strengthen Emery’s squad ahead of next season.
Should Kesler-Hayden depart as expected, we wish him well for the future, as there’s a significant amount of confidence that he’ll shine in the Championship next season and continue to improve and develop his game to emerge as a top player.
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