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For the past 13 months, there have been rumors that Donyell Malen could leave Borussia Dortmund. Now, it’s finally official. On Tuesday, Premier League club Aston Villa reached an agreement with Dortmund to sign the 25-year-old forward. Dortmund will receive €25 million plus €5 million in bonuses for the Dutch forward. The deal allows Dortmund, who acquired Maalen from PSV Eindhoven for 30 million euros in 2021, to recoup the majority, and ideally the entire amount, of their original transfer fee.
Why were Dortmund so keen on moving on from Maren? A solid forward, Mullen lost his place in the starting lineup under coach Nuri Sahin, scoring five goals and one assist in just 945 minutes of 20 games. This is only half of the available minutes, far too short for Malen, who is aiming to become a regular starter for the Dutch national team.
Dortmund are keen to release forwards to create space for new players, while Aston Villa are keen to strengthen their attack. The Birmingham club made a good start to the season with an excellent result in the Champions League, in particular defeating Bayern Munich (1-0). However, in the Premier League, the club are currently four points out of the fierce race for Champions League qualification. Although listed as a right-winger on Transfermarkt, Malen can play in multiple positions up front. In fact, one of his biggest problems at Dortmund was the fact that he wasn’t able to find his best position.
Malen to Aston Villa – What can the Dortmund striker add to Emery’s team?
What can Malen add to Aston Villa? Unai Emery will be looking to score. But is the Dutch forward the player to provide them? Simply put, Malen does have a history of scoring goals. He has only five goals and one assist in 20 games this season, but last season was his most productive in Germany to date, with 13 goals and three assists in 27 Bundesliga games. As mentioned above, tactically Malen will give Emery some flexibility. Malen can slot in on either wing or even play as a number nine. Such depth would make him a valuable asset for the English club.
But even in his most productive campaign, inconsistency was a key point. A glimpse into the Transfermarkt database highlights this. Maren scored three goals in his first four games last year, but then failed to score in seven Bundesliga games, then scored six goals in nine Bundesliga starts before an injury forced him to suspend the rest of the season. It was done. The same can be said for the 2022/23 season, where he scored nine goals and provided seven assists in 26 Bundesliga games, but his first goal came on matchday 21.
Short periods of high temperatures and long periods without goals have characterized Maren’s Dortmund career so far. This stripe is one of the main reasons why Dortmund are looking to move on from the forward and try to earn money to find a more stable forward. Mullen’s contradictions are also reflected in his market value. As part of the latest Bundesliga market value update, Malen’s market value soared to €40 million as Dortmund progressed to the Champions League final, but it fell by €12 million to €28 million. With that in mind, signing Malen was a gamble for Aston Villa, while Dortmund managed to sell the forward in a package deal that allowed them to recoup their initial transfer fee.
