Aston Villa's Donyell Malen has made the perfect start at Roma, so much so that he has been compared to two greats of the game
Donyell Malen of AS Roma shoots with a bicycle kick during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Cagliari Calcio at Stadio Olimpico
Donyell Malen of AS Roma shoots with a bicycle kick during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Cagliari Calcio at Stadio Olimpico(Image: Getty Images)
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Donyell Malen has laughed off comparisons to Dutch great Marco van Basten as the Aston Villa forward makes a big impact in Italy.
Malen fired AS Roma to a 2-0 Serie A victory against Cagliari on Monday night, scoring a double at the Stadio Olimpico.
Having also scored on his debut for Roma, he has three goals in four matches since his switch to the Italian capital from Villa Park.
Asked by Sky Sport Italia if he is looking to follow in the footsteps of AC Milan legend van Basten, Malen said: “Van Basten was a very special player, no!”
“I’m very happy, a good win, I’m happy with the goals, nice assist, everybody played well, so it was a good day.”
Roma have an option to make Malen’s loan deal a permanent transfer at the end of the season.
Asked if he expected Malen to make such a big impact so quickly, Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini said: “I'm convinced he's a top player.
“We have to make sure we help him and give him the right sort of service. He's a difficult player to contain with such a vast repertoire.”
On the comparisons to van Basten, Gasperini added: “Van Basten had a different physique. (Gianluca) Vialli had a similar ability to shake off his marker and get in behind. Malen has similar movements.”
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