Aston Villa are in talks with Borussia Dortmund over a potential deal to sign Donyell Malen.
Villa have made an offer for the striker of around €18m (£14. 9m, $18. 6m) plus add-ons, which is below Dortmund’s valuation, but negotiations are ongoing between the clubs.
The Premier League side are looking to strengthen their squad with a versatile attacker and Malen is high among multiple candidates.
Advertisement
The 25-year-old Dutch international, under contract until 2026, has played six of his team’s 15 Bundesliga games so far this season and has scored five goals in all competitions, adding two in the Champions League.
Malen made four appearances for the Netherlands at Euro 2024, picking up two wins in their round of 16 over Romania and starting the semi-final defeat to England.
He joined Dortmund from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2021: he scored 39 goals in 131 appearances and bet 8 times on Dortmund to reach the 2024 Champions League final, where he was a substitute in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Real. . Madrid.
Villa are ninth in the English top-flight and next play at home to Leicester City on January 4.
GO DEEPER
Aston Villa Transfer DealSheet: What to expect in the January window
Analysis from Aston Villa correspondent Jacob Tanswell
Villa have been open to signing a multi-faceted striker in January for some time now, having been unable to have one in the front line since Moussa Diaby’s departure in the summer.
Malen would fit the criteria for a striker, like Diaby, who can fill multiple positions, such as second striker and wide player, and share the scoring load with Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins, in turn replacing the missed goals of Diaby and Douglas. Luiz. season, as well as Leon Bailey, who has struggled for fitness this season.
However, there has been internal sentiment that any resolution will depend on the terms of the deal and whether they remain within the club’s monetary parameters.
Analysis from German football correspondent Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Malen’s career at Dortmund has been an enigma. Despite more than 3 years at the club, no consensus has ever actually been discovered on his value. And that does not measure his talent, yet his consistency. Malen’s shape has been volatile, with hot streaks melting as temporarily as they appeared.
Advertisement
Over the past year, when it has become an open secret that he would prefer to continue his career elsewhere, dating between him and Dortmund fans has become delicate. It’s yet another complication for a career that has never been one thing or the other, rather a strange combination of intelligence and evil.
He has talent and has shown that he can change the rules of the game at the highest level, but never with enough regularity. The caveat, however, is that the groups he played for at Dortmund were flawed or in transition (he never had the privilege of running with a coach as permanent as Jurgen Klopp or as ideologically imposing as Thomas Tuchel), hence a renaissance. in the Midlands is not out of the question.
GO DEEPER
Donyell Malen’s struggles at Dortmund draw parallels to Jadon Sancho’s slow start at Manchester United
(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
David Ornstein joined The Athletic in October 2019 after 12 years as a BBC sports journalist and correspondent. As a football correspondent, he is guilty of generating exclusive and original stories and interviews, providing information and analysis. Work through video, audio and writing. Follow David on Twitter@David_Ornstein