Aston Villa have pinpointed Donyell Malen as their favored transfer target at the right wing position, likely because he is an explosive athlete with goal-scoring upside who seemed, at the outset, to be a cost-effective option.
The Lions have former Bundesliga star Leon Bailey as a decent veteran presence on the wing, but they don’t have a whole lot beyond the Jamaican international, leading to their interest in a more direct scoring option who can add dynamism to the side.
Aston Villa are pretty close to getting a deal done for Malen, and all the personal terms are agreed. They just need to negotiate with Dortmund on the final transfer fee, which has become a bit of a problem, thanks to the Bundesliga giants.
According to a report from Sky Sports Germany’s main insider Florian Plettenberg, Aston Villa have actually acquiesced to bumping up their transfer offer for Malen to 25 million euros, but Dortmund want more.
Sebastian Kehl and Co. want 30 million euros for Malen, which is a strikingly high valuation for a player who has been phased out as a regular starter and is in the midst of poor form.
Although there are leaks in the media indicating interest from other Premier League clubs, it doesn’t appear that Dortmund have any other suitors on the table for Malen, meaning Aston Villa have the leverage here if BVB really are serious about selling him
The 25-year-old has scored 3 goals in about 611 Bundesliga minutes, indicating that goal-scoring upside, but his creative and dribbling statistics have all been down in a season with more appearances off the bench than starts.
Aston Villa, remember, have other options. Former Villarreal star Samuel Chukwueze is a more intriguing option who could be cheaper than 30 million euros, and he isn’t the only alternative to Malen out there either.
Already, the Villains are adding more money to the table to get a deal done, but if Dortmund continue to hold out for even more, Aston Villa have to draw the line and say “take it or leave it” to a Dortmund side that, quite frankly, has lost its business touch badly over the years.
