Aston Villa have the chance to bolster their ranks this winter
Aston Villa may have to see off competition from fellow Premier League side Newcastle United in pursuit of Borussia Dortmund attacker Donyell Malen. According to German news outlet BILD, Eddie Howe’s side are now ‘also interested’ in luring the player over to England this month.
Unai Emery has identified the Bundesliga ace as a target in this transfer window as he looks to bolster his ranks. He is facing an uncertain future right now in Germany amid attention from some other teams.
Aston Villa links to Donyell Malen latest
Malen, who is 25-years-old, was linked with Arsenal and Liverpool late last year, as reported by 90min. He is still under contract with his current club for another two years meaning Borussia Dortmund are under no pressure to cash in on him right now and can wait for the best offer to come in for his signature.
Aston Villa could see the Holland international as someone to boost their attacking arsenal and give them something different ahead of the second-half of the season. He has been on the books at Borussia Dortmund since joining them back in 2021 and has been a regular for the German giants.
Malen has scored 39 goals in 131 games in all competitions, three of which have come in this campaign. He helped Dortmund reach the Champions League final last year but they were beaten in the final by Real Madrid at Wembley.
Aston Villa target Donyell Malen open to England return
Malen played for Arsenal from 2015 to 2017 as a youngster but didn’t break into their first-team. He left for PSV to learn his trade before his current club came calling and he hasn’t looked back since as he weighs up his next chapter now.
He said last term that he was open to moving to England, as per Goal: “I think, because I played in England as a youth, it is a dream to play in the Premier League. I think that is a beautiful dream.”
Asked specifically about a return to the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal, Malen added: “Yes I would [return]. I wanted Arsenal [as a teenager], my favourite club. I played there in my youth, I really wanted to break through there. Every now and then in a football career there are points at which you just have to make a decision.
“Yes, I was training with the first team, and I was 17, 18 at the time and I did make steps in the right direction, but I thought I had to just play professional football. I also saw my teammates playing professional football while I was still playing youth football and I knew [leaving] was the right thing to do.”
Aston Villa are currently sat in 8th place in the table and have their sights set on getting into Europe again. They beat Leicester City 2-1 last time out to get another three points on the board with midfielder Ross Barkley and winger Leon Bailey on the scoresheet.
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