Villa bid for Dortmund forward falls short as Emery eyes competition for Watkins, Duran
Unai Emery seems hungry to add more goals to his team despite boasting attacking options including Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers.
The trio have all chipped in with their fair share of goals so far this season, in both the Premier League and the Champions League, where Aston Villa sit in a comfortable position in the table.
In the domestic league, Villa are ninth, while their four wins out of six in Europe sees them on course for an automatic qualification spot into the knockout stage.
Although Rogers had been a class apart in his first season in the top flight, he isn’t regarded as a central striking option, hence Villa’s sudden interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen.
Villa have been in talks with the German giants, with a £15m bid rebuffed, though the reliable David Ornstein claims talks are ongoing.
Malen is seen as a versatile option up front, able to play centrally in the absence of Duran and Watkins, while being comfortable playing on the wings.
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He has started six of Dortmund’s 15 Bundesliga games this season, scoring five in all competitions and can be viewed as a direct replacement for Moussa Diaby who left the club for Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad.
Despite playing in midfield and a completely different type of player to Malen, Douglas Luiz was in double figures for both goals and assists last season, and Villa have struggled to replace the goals he brought to the team.
Leon Bailey has also struggled for form this season despite playing over 20 games, so the potential arrival of Malen is understandable.
Dormund signed Malen in 2021 as the replacement for Jadon Sancho who had departed for Manchester United. After switching PSV for Germany, Malen has never really hit the heights many expected, failing to follow in the footsteps of other low-cost, young signings Dortmund have made in previous years such as Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland.
At just 25 though, time is on his side. He isn’t a big money signing who fans will expect much off, but he certainly has the qualities to make a difference when needed.
Malen scored once on route to the Champions League final last season where Dortmund were runners up, coming on as a second-half substitute. He also played four times for the Netherlands in the Euro’s last summer, again, coming on as a half-time sub against England in the semi-final.
