‘Very Impressive’ – Out-on-loan Aston Villa Man Catches Former International’s Eye
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Former Netherlands international Bolo Zenden believes that Aston Villa out-on-loan attacker Donyell Malen is going to be a handful for any backline, stressing that the forward is going to play a role for his national team at the World Cup.
The versatile Dutch forward spent a year at Villa Park after joining Aston Villa from Borussia Dortmund in January of 2025 and made an impact at the club.
He contributed to 12 goals directly in 46 games for Villans, mostly playing as an off-the-bench substitute for Unai Emery’s side.
However, Malen was played mostly out wide at the Birmingham-based club, and the Dutchman wanted to play up front, as a number 9.
Serie A club Rona loaned Malen in with an obligation to buy the 27-year-old forward based upon certain conditions, and he has set the Italian top flight on fire, as he has already scored seven goals in only ten games.
One former Italy star lauded the Villa loanee for his major impact in Rome, stressing that he changed the look of Gian Piero Gasperini’s side since he joined them.
Ex-Netherlands midfield star Zenden insisted that he is impressed with Malen’s performances at the Giallorossi, who he thinks are mostly very defensive, lauding him for his dedication to running tirelessly.
The 49-year-old is of the view that Malen has the ability to make any backline sweat, stressing the Villa loanee could play a key role for the Dutch national team in the upcoming World Cup.
“He doesn’t always score. That is perhaps the caveat you could make regarding Donyell, but for any defence, he is a handful”, Zenden said on Dutch programme Studio Voetbal (via Voetbal Primeur) about the Villa man.
“He has managed to put himself in the spotlight at Roma so quickly; I think that is very impressive.
“They are quite defensively minded there and he is running non-stop.
“So that is quite impressive.
“I believe he is going to play a role for the Dutch national team.”
One of Malen’s former coaches is clear that his move to Roma is going to be a permanent one, and the Serie A club will be paying a sizeable €25m to Aston Villa, who have kept a ten per cent sell-on clause.
Aston Villa could have cause to regret letting Malen go for such a low sum if he continues to shine at Roma and then has an impressive World Cup for the Netherlands, with such a scenario sure to skyrocket his value.
Roma currently sit sixth in the Serie A standings and outside the top four Champions League spots.
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