Donyell Malen to Aston Villa transfer latest as NSWE sent clear instruction
Aston Villa are hoping to complete their first signing of the January transfer window in the form of Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen.
The Athletic reported on Thursday that the Midlands club saw an initial bid of £14.9m plus add-ons rejected by the Bundesliga club, and negotiations remain ongoing. It has been suggested Malen is high on the list of multiple targets as Unai Emery looks to strengthen his squad this month.
Malen, 25, is a Dutch international, and he signed for Dortmund from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2021. He has scored 39 goals and registered 20 assists in his 131 appearances across all competitions for the club so far.
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The latest from Sky in Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg indicates Dortmund will want a fee in the region of £24m for Malen, which means Villa's rumoured bid falls significantly short of that. The player is under contract until 2026, so the German club are under no immediate pressure to sell.
Speaking on Villa's interest in Malen, Dortmund's sporting director Sebastian Kehl told the DPA news agency: "Donny is an important player for us and has been our top scorer in the last two seasons.
“I'm not surprised that his qualities are attracting interest on the market. Nevertheless, he is of great value to us.”
Dortmund are currently sixth in the Bundesliga standings with seven wins from their 15 games so far. They are 11 points off rivals Bayern Munich in top spot, with Mainz, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen the clubs above them at this stage.
Villa, on the other hand, are ninth in the Premier League standings and six points off top four. Emery's side are in action this weekend at home to Leicester City before they host West Ham in the third round of the FA Cup next week.
