What Malen brings to Roma after potential €25m transfer from Aston Villa

Donyell Malen has officially completed his transfer from Aston Villa to Roma, which could turn out to be a permanent move at a cost of €25m. Here is what the Giallorossi should expect from the Dutchman in Serie A. 

On Friday, Roma officially announced their signing of Malen on loan with a potential obligation to buy from Aston Villa. 

The Giallorossi will reportedly pay Malen around €4m per season in wages, and will have an obligation to buy in the event that the Giallorossi qualify for the Europa League and that Malen plays for 35 minutes in at least 50% of the team’s matches between now and the end of the season. 

Gian Piero Gasperini finally has the attacking reinforcements that he has been requesting since the summer. The Giallorossi have now added two new striking options to their ranks with Malen and Robinio Vaz, who arrived in a permanent deal from Olympique de Marseille, also for a fee in the region of €25m. 

At the age of 26, and with Eredivisie, Bundesliga and Premier League experience on his CV, Malen is expected to become a first-team regular, and potentially Gasperini’s first-choice centre-forward before long. 

That is partly due to the fact that Evan Ferguson has struggled to convince Gasperini since joining on loan with an option to buy from Brighton over the summer, and that Artem Dovbyk requires surgery, which is expected to keep him sidelined for a further two months. 

Even so, Malen brings a different profile compared to the likes of Ferguson and Dovbyk. While the latter are considered ‘traditional’ no.9s; big, strong and coming to life in the penalty area, Malen is better known for his pace, agility and ability to break the lines. 

Furthermore, Malen also brings an element of versatility that Roma do not have in Ferguson or Dovbyk. 

The Dutchman is capable of operating as a centre-forward, as a second striker and as a winger, which means that he is able to cover in practically every one of the forward positions in Gasperini’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system. That means that he could feasibly play alongside either Ferguson or Dovbyk, while Ferguson and Dovbyk have only played alongside each other for 10 minutes across the whole of the Serie A season so far. 

Malen has provided four goals and one assist from his 21 appearances in the Premier League so far in 2025-26, however, only five of those outings were as a starter. 

He also has three goals from six outings (four starts) in the Europa League and is averaging a goal every 110 minutes in that competition. 

With seven goals to his name in 2025-26, Malen is only one goal away from matching his seasonal tally from 2024-25, when he scored eight competitive goals across the Bundesliga, Premier League and Champions League.