Aston Villa have Ian Maatsen advantage in transfer race for £25m-rated forward
Aston Villa have reignited their interest in Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reported on 31 December (page 59) that the 25-year-old has a strong rapport with his international teammate and Villa full-back Ian Maatsen.
This could hand the Villans a boost to sign the forward, once on the books at Arsenal, who is valued at £25million by the Bundesliga outfit ahead of the January window.
Ian Maatsen hands Aston Villa Donyell Malen transfer boost
Unai Emery’s side have had an up-and-down season so far which leaves them sitting in ninth going into the new year.
The most recent draw against Brighton (30 December) shows what is going wrong at Villa Park right now as the Seagulls were able to get back into the game late on.
This proved the lack of clinical nature in the squad in B6 and also proved how few attacking options there is to bring off the bench.
As a result, the January window could prove to be important to where Villa ultimately end the Premier League campaign.
Bringing in a player like Malen could prove to be wise, especially given that the forward already has a positive link to the club through Maatsen.
The ex-PSV man has plenty of attacking versatility which could have a positive impact on the side moving forward and may be exactly what Emery needs in his squad right now.
In other Aston Villa news, Stan Collymore made a “desperate” Unai Emery admission during the Brighton draw.
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