What Unai Emery expects from Donyell Malen as Leon Bailey point made
Unai Emery is hopeful Donyell Malen will quickly adjust after his transfer from Borussia Dortmund so he can provide consistent output to the Aston Villa attack.
The Dutch international signed for Villa earlier this month in a deal worth around £20m and replaced Jaden Philogene in Emery's squad as the winger departed for Ipswich Town for a similar fee.
Malen could make his debut on Sunday against West Ham after staying on the bench in the 2-2 draw at Arsenal before he was unavailable to play against Monaco in midweek due to UEFA registration rules. No Dortmund player has scored more goals than Malen in the Bundesliga since the start of the 2022/23 campaign and Emery is expecting an instant impact.
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"He has to help us – starting on Sunday," Emery said. "He wasn’t available for Monaco so he worked here alone with the group. This is the first match he can be in the squad helping us.
“Of course, his quality is there. He has shown that at Dortmund and for Netherlands as well. Hopefully we can get him in our structure quick so that his performances can help us."
He added: "The most important thing in the training session is to show the consistency of working. The performances are for the matches. To analyse his performance is by playing official matches."
Villa have enjoyed great success from their January transfer business in the last couple of years, signing the likes of Alex Moreno, Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers in recent winter windows. Signed for just £8m 12 months ago, Rogers' value has increased tenfold after developing rapidly under Emery.
Asked if Malen can have a similar impact, Emery said: "Of course, my expectation of him is to help us performing at the level he has. Helping on the right side, as a second striker, scoring, assisting. This is the expectation with every player we have.
"Not only with the players we are adding but those here – to improve for the second half of the season. For example, Leon Bailey. Try to add numbers for those players who don’t have them yet.
"I’m positive. I’m always trying to transmit to them the same message of being confident with their work. Sometimes maybe they are not in good form or feeling confident but always we are here to support the players to feel confident, play in the position and of course we expect of them the best for the next matches."
