Aston Villa star eager to make mark after "difficulties" since joining club
Donyell Malen is eager to make his mark at Villa after the “difficulties” of his first six months at the club.
The Netherlands international joined from Borussia Dortmund for £21million in January but was then omitted from Villa’s Champions League squad following the loan arrivals of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.
Malen was restricted to just two Premier League starts but did score three goals and with Rashford and Asensio both having departed, there is a sense he has a much larger part to play in his first full campaign with the club.
The 26-year-old set-up both of Villa’s goals in Saturday’s 2-2 friendly draw with Eintracht Frankfurt and then outlined his ambitions for the months ahead.
“When I came it was always going to be a bit different,” he said.
“A few things were difficult but I think I handled it quite well. I just tried to help the team and hopefully this season I can do the same and play more.
“It’s about getting a rhythm and a flow now, being on the pitch to help the team.”
Malen reached the Champions League final with Dortmund in 2024 and the opportunity to keep playing in Europe’s elite club competition was a big factor in him choosing to join Villa.
But the club could add only three new players to their squad for the knockout rounds and it was Rashford, Asensio and defender Axel Disasi, who joined from Chelsea on deadline, who got the nod. Villa went on to reach the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
Emery admitted at the time it was “not easy” to tell Malen he was not being included but the relationship between player and manager remains a good one.
“I just want to be on the pitch and help the team,” continued Malen. “I want to get involved in goals and assists, and also get results.
“He (Emery) doesn’t need to motivate me. We talk about football and how I can improve and help the team, but he doesn’t need to motivate me.
It has been good working with him. He is a very intelligent and intense coach. Every player knows what he expects from us, so it has gone well.”
Villa have been back training at their base in Nashville ahead of their second friendly of the tour at St Louis City on Wednesday night.
Defender Andres Garcia, another January signing who did not make the Champions League squad, is back in the UK recovering from injury, along with midfielder Ross Barkley.
