This is why Unai Emery has made a horrible mistake with Donyell Malen at Aston Villa
Unai Emery should never have let Donyell Malen leave Aston Villa in the winter transfer window.
Malen completed a loan move to Roma last month, with the Italian club holding a £21.7million obligation to buy if they reach the Champions League or Europa League.
For the clause to become active, the Dutchman also has to play in 50 per cent of Roma’s games from when he joined to the end of the 2025-26 season.
Both of those events look increasingly likely to happen, which means Malen’s Aston Villa exit is expected to become permanent in the summer.
Donyell Malen in superb Roma form
After moving to Roma in the middle of January, Malen has been in red-hot form, scoring five in his first five games for the Italian club.
Following a debut goal against Torino, the 27-year-old has bagged a brace in each of his last two matches, a win over Cagliari and a draw with Napoli.
In fact, the former Villa man has scored five out of the seven Serie A goals Roma have scored since he joined on loan.
As shown in the Sofascore graphic below, Malen is averaging five shots per game and is finding the back of the net every 78 minutes.
It’s the sort of form that will quickly make him a fan favourite in the Italian capital, and could help his new side reach Champions League football.
Roma are currently fourth in Serie A, occupying the final Champions League space, but are just one point clear of fifth-place Juventus.
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Aston Villa could use Donyell Malen’s goals
It has been a difficult few weeks for Aston Villa, with their downturn in form directly coinciding with Malen’s departure.
While that is simply a coincidence, and more to do with the injuries to Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, the Dutchman’s exit had had an impact.
Tammy Abraham is an adequate replacement, and grabbed his first goal back in Villa colours during their 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the FA Cup, but Emery is surely missing Malen.
The Midlands outfit will be watching the forward’s exploits in Italy with a hint of jealousy, and the Villa boss must be wondering if he has made a dreadful error by letting him leave.
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