Aston Villa let Kosta Nedeljković join RB Leipzig on loan in January and sanctioned another loan move in July.
The right-back has been limited to 11 minutes from two matches for the Bundesliga club this season.
On September 20th, the Aston Villa man made his last appearance and he’s been out of action since then with a knee injury.
Bild now states the 19-year-old is ‘fighting for his Leipzig future’.
The German club have agreed a €10m purchase option with Unai Emery’s side. It’s claimed the chance of Leipzig, led by their sporting director Marcel Schäfer, exercising the purchase clause is slim if he doesn’t feature regularly.
The report explains the Aston Villa owned player has returned to training.
He’s spoken to Bild about the nature of the setback.
“I took a knock at the start of the season. Despite the problems, I kept training and tried to ignore the pain. Sometimes you have to be smart, listen to your body, and not overexert yourself, even though you always want to give 100%,” he said.
Aston Villa youngster giving his all
MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY – 29 MARCH, 2025: Aston Villa owned Kosta Nedeljkovic – Bundesliga, matchday 27.
The injury blow has impacted him mentally.
“It wasn’t easy mentally. Especially having to train alone after the injury and missing four or five games. But I’m giving it my all, that’s my mentality,” Nedeljković explained.
“I’m not the type to settle down on the bench. I talk to the coach every day, he trusts me. I hope I get my chance in the next few months.”
The fullback’s immediate goal is to return to the pitch after the international break. He will definitely need minutes to have a future at Leipzig beyond this season.
Nedeljković has time to turn things around at the German club, as long as he makes himself available for selection.