Breaking: Aston Villa complete £20m transfer as Unai Emery lands prime target
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Donyell Malen in a deal worth around £20m plus add-ons.
The forward was identified as a priority signing this month as Unai Emery looked to add a versatile, pacy attacker to his forward options. Malen will firstly add competition for Leon Bailey on the right wing after operating in that position for most of his time at Borussia Dortmund.
He joined the Bundesliga side in the summer of 2021 from PSV in a move worth roughly £25m. The 25-year-old was Dortmund’s top scorer in the last two seasons, after bagging 10 in all competitions in 2022/23 and then 15 times last season.
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Malen started 21 league games for Dortmund last season and also played a part in the club’s run to the Champions League final, scoring in the last 16 first leg against former club PSV.
But following Dortmund’s signing of Max Beier, Malen only played from the off on six occasions in the Bundesliga this term. That’s less than half of the 16 games which Nuri Sahin’s side have played so far in the league.
He scored three times in 14 total league appearances for Dortmund this campaign, while he also bagged and assisted in the club’s 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid in October, before scoring the winner against Sturm Graz in matchweek four.
Malen will not be allowed to feature in Villa’s last two Champions League league phase fixtures against AS Monaco and Celtic. He can be registered for the competition for the start of the knockout rounds.
