Aston Villa launch first major January transfer window bid as fee talks revealed
Aston Villa are pushing to sign Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund this month
Aston Villa will continue talks with Borussia Dortmund over signing Donyell Malen after reportedly seeing an offer rejected by the German club.
Dutch international Malen is a key target for Villa this month as Unai Emery looks to add a versatile attacker to his ranks.
The Athletic claim that Villa’s £15m bid plus add-ons was turned down by Dortmund. The offer fell short of their valuation of Malen, but negotiations will continue.
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Contracted until 2026, Malen joined Dortmund in the summer of 2021 and has scored a total of 39 goals in 131 appearances in all competitions. Malen is capable of playing across the front line but has mostly operated on the right wing for Dortmund.
This season, Malen has only started six of Dortmund’s 15 Bundesliga matches, scoring five times in all competitions. He joined Dortmund from PSV, where he bagged 55 goals in 116 appearances.
Malen also has plenty of experience playing in European football, making 31 appearances in the Champions League and 14 in the Europa League. The forward featured in eight matches in Dortmund’s run to the 2024 Champions League final, where he came on in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid.
Malen was teammates with Villa defender Ian Maatsen after the left-back spent the second half of last season on loan at Dortmund.