New Delhi: Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side have agreed on a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Dutch winger Donyell Malen on a permanent basis. The 25-year-old winger is set to return to England after spending a short time in the country while playing in the youth academy of fellow Premier League side Arsenal. Malen has been playing for Dortmund since joining the club in 2021 as their Jadon Sancho replacement.
The 25-year-old winger had his best season at the club in the 2023/24 campaign, as he helped them reach the UEFA Champions League final. This season however, he seems to have fallen down the pecking order at BVB and hasn’t been given the same game time as he was while playing under Edin Terzic. New manager and former Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin has preferred to utilize summer signing Maximilian Bier on the right flank of attack.
🚨🟣🔵 Aston Villa agree deal to sign Donyell Malen from BVB, here we go!
Agreement reached with Borussia Dortmund for €23m plus €3m add-ons fee.
Medical and formal steps to follow soon to seal the deal.
Total agreement also with player, as @Plettigoal @SkySportDE report. pic.twitter.com/l0efQC9HBJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 13, 2025
They also have the option of utilizing Karim Adeyemi and Julien Duranville on that flank making the exit of Malen a bit easier for the club. He is set to join the Villans in a deal worth €23 million plus €3 million in add ons and would slot well into the current Aston Villa set up. The club don’t have many wingers on their books and have been forced to play Morgan Rogers and John McGinn in that position for most the season.
The Dutch winger has been likened to Alexis Sanchez
For those wondering why have Aston Villa gone ahead and signed a winger from Dortmund who has only scored five goals this season, Malen is an extremely useful player who can light the Premier League up this season. A versatile player, Malen is capable of playing both as a winger and striker and was an integral part of Dortmund’s attack during his time in Germany. Due to his dribbling abilities and eye for goal, ex Ajax youth coach Brian Tevreden likened Malen to former Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez, who was a revelation during his time at the Emirates.
Malen started his career at the world famous academy at Ajax, spending eight years at the biggest Dutch club in the world before Arsenal came calling. Having been developed by two of the best academies in the world, Malen was sure to have a bright future in senior level football from the get go. He returned to Netherlands after two years with Arsenal and joined the youth set up at PSV, making his mark in the Dutch second division for Jong PSV.
He broke through in the 2017/18 season, scoring 13 goals and assisting three in just 22 games for Jong PSV, finishing as their top scorer, which earned him a call up to the PSV senior team. His first season with PSV, he was mostly used as a winger and scored 10 goals for the club in the Eredivisie and got five assists. However, his next two seasons were the ones that transformed his reputation completely.
Former Arsenal youth player Donyell Malen scored FIVE goals for PSV 💥 pic.twitter.com/aBkxGC4zjN
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 14, 2019
During the 2019/20 and the 2020/21 season, he was utilized as a striker by the club and his output increased exponentially. He ended the 2019/20 season with 17 goals and nine assists in just 25 games for the club before achieving his personal best the next year. He scored a whopping 27 goals and assisted another 10 in just 45 games for PSV which alerted clubs around the world and Dortmund came calling for the winger.
His first season with BVB was a bit of a mixed bag but he still contributed to 15 goals in 38 games, while playing mostly as a striker. That wasn’t working out well with the club and he was reverted to a winger once again and his output increased as he was able to fit in well with Dortmund’s fluid playstyle and the following season, he got 10 goals and eight assists in 35 games before producing his best numbers for the club last season, contributing to 20 goals for them.
How does he fit at Aston Villa?
How good of a signing is Donyell Malen for Aston Villa? ✍️ pic.twitter.com/6eZXiq4Jf6
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 13, 2025
He has been a consistent performer across seasons till now for both PSV and Borussia Dortmund that should fill anyone with an affection towards Aston Villa with a lot of optimism about this move. However, the step up to the Premier League has proven to be challenging for a lot of players and Malen would need to buck that trend if he is to become an integral part of Unai Emery’s squad. Aston Villa have become accustomed to buying wingers from the Bundesliga of late and Malen is the third recruit they have signed in the last three seasons.
Following the captures of Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen in the previous two seasons, Malen is set to become the third addition. The club sold Diaby in the summer and hadn’t signed anyone to replace the winger and it seems they’ve identified the Dortmund winger for that role. Bailey had his best time at Villa while playing alongside Diaby last season and has struggled this season for the club.
With a partnership of both Bailey and Malen down the wings with Rogers in between them and one of Ollie Watkins or Jhon Duran up front, Aston Villa would have one of the best attacks in the league. The club don’t have a lot of wingers on their ranks and have also sold off Jaden Philogene to Ipswich Town in this window, leaving them even more understaffed in that position. Malen slots straight into Unai Emery’s starting lineup and can also provide them adequate cover for Watkins and Duran making him an excellent signing if he can deliver.
Premier League outfit Aston Villa have agreed a €23 million deal with German side Borussia Dortmund for their Dutch winger Donyell Malen. Dive in to find out more about the deal and the player. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
