Gasperini heaps praise on Roma new boy Malen: ‘Exactly what I was looking for’

Gian Piero Gasperini was quick to single out Donyell Malen after Roma’s 2-0 win away to Torino, praising the Dutch forward for delivering exactly what he wanted from his new signing.

Malen enjoyed a dream debut for Roma, scoring on his first appearance after arriving in January and combining effectively with Paulo Dybala, who also found the net.

Speaking to Sky Sport after the match, Gasperini stressed the immediate impact the former Aston Villa forward has had on the team.

“A player like Malen raises the level of the squad,” Gasperini explained.

“We played with quality. Dybala had an important match and scored an extraordinary first goal. He and Malen understand each other.”

The Roma coach went on to underline why the club moved decisively to bring Malen in.

“He scores goals. He has the characteristics I was looking for: he can free himself both with diagonal runs and when attacking space. He has speed and power, which are fundamental for the way we want to play,” Gasperini said.

“We want to build a team that can make the most of his qualities. He needs to play close to the penalty area.”

Gasperini also briefly addressed another recent arrival, Robinio Vaz, urging patience.

“He has good qualities, but he’s very young. At his age it’s not easy to play in Serie A. We can work with him, in the long term he’s a very good signing.”

Roma will hope Malen’s fast start proves the foundation for a strong second half of the season.