Aston Villa closing in on Borussia Dortmund forward, Donyell Malen | OneFootball

Aston Villa reportedly wants to sign Donyell Malen from the Bundesliga side of Borussia Dortmund.

According to David Ornstein of the Athletic, Villa has made an offer of around £14.9 million plus add-ons but the valuation falls short of Dortmund’s valuation for the player. Other reports suggest that Dortmund want another £2 million to close the deal.

Villa have lacked something since the departure of Moussa Diaby in the summer and Malen is considered an ideal replacement for the French forward.

The 25-year-old forward has struggled for game time this season playing just 837 minutes (at the time of writing) and it is suggested he would welcome a move to the Premier League.

Would Malen fill the void at Aston Villa?

To get to the point, yes. However, consistency throughout his career has often been a problem. His versatility, dribbling ability and the 7 goals he has scored so far this season (averaging a goal every 119 minutes) will interest Villa.

Unai Emery will no doubt believe he can improve the player who is out of contract in 2026. Work will need to be done on some areas of his game like ball retention, crossing and his defensive contribution.

What went wrong at Dortmund?

Malen’s consistency has always been an issue since he signed from PSV Eindhoven for around £25 million in July 2021. Some would argue the chopping and changing of managers hasn’t helped. There is no doubt there is a player there and maybe the stewardship from Emery will help him reach the potential many saw in him in his youth days.

The forward made it clear that he wanted a new challenge last summer and has since struggled with the BVB faithful.

One thing is for sure, this seems to be one rumour that will only grow over the coming days.