Dutch media blown away by what Donyell Malen did away from Aston Villa
Donyell Malen came on in the 72nd minute for the Netherlands in their World Cup qualifier against Malta.
The Aston Villa ace may have only been on the pitch for 18 minutes, but the 26-year-old certainly had the desired impact for his international side.
In an 8-0 thrashing for his side, Malen scored twice, his first just two minutes after coming on to the pitch, and contributed an assist.
Malen praised for impactful performance
Although he only arrived at Villa Park last summer, Malen has struggled to get game time this season.
Unai Emery chose to leave him out of the Champions League squad list, and in the Premier League, game time was limited to 14 appearances.
Nevertheless, registering three goals in those appearances certainly suggested that there is talent inside the Dutchman, something which he certainly showed in orange.
The forward scored his side’s fifth and sixth goals of the evening and his side now sit second in their table, a point behind Finland.
| Malen v Malta | |
| Minutes Played | 18 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 1 |
| FotMob Rating | 9 |
Malen was praised by the Dutch national media for his contributions, with claims that he was the man who changed the game.
The NL Times wrote that Malen made a “huge difference”, describing his performance as “terrific”.
Meanwhile, Football Oranje rated his performance as eight out of 10, calling him a “big threat”.
Emery has to make use of Malen for Aston Villa
Given how well Malen has performed when called upon this season, it is somewhat surprising just how much his game time has been limited so far.
However, it’s fair to say that he has continued to show what he can do both in the league and on the international stage, which will surely continue to catch Emery’s eye.
Aston Villa find themselves in a difficult position with PSR regulations this summer, after missing out on Champions League football last season.
As a result, the Villans are going to be forced to offload several players, while being measured in their spending, too.
This could present a perfect opportunity for Malen, with the boss having to make use of what he already has in his squad.
Should he perform to even half of the same levels he has shown on the international stage, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the forward make his mark on the squad and earn more regular minutes.