During the January transfer window, Sport Witness extensively covered Donyell Malen’s transfer to AS Roma from Aston Villa.
The Italian press were confident about Roma’s obligation to buy. The UK press suggested it was only an option, which points at a possible conditional obligation to buy for the Giallorossi.
Despite the confusion, Malen has made an immediate impact. He scored against Torino on his debut and started in games against AC Milan and Udinese.
Most importantly, Malen grabbed an all-important brace for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side against Cagliari. The Giallorossi grabbed all three points in a 2-0 win, as they stayed fifth in the table.
The buzz around the Aston Villa loanee is now growing. The 26-year-old attracted special praise from Gasperini, who ended up making a lofty comparison too.
DAZN’s Alessandro Matri, who himself starred for Cagliari and Juventus, spoke to the Roma manager. He was asked about the Malen importance and qualities.
Transfer from Aston Villa pleasing everyone
Donyell Malen
Rome, Italy 25th January 2026: Donyell Malen of AS Roma during the Serie A 2025-26 football match between AS ROMA vs AC MILAN at the Olimpico Stadium
Gasperini said – relayed by RomaNews: “I have no doubts about the player. We noticed it from the very first training sessions.
“I was telling him he can score a lot of goals in the league, he has the qualities to always be very dangerous. We need to make the most of him and give him the chance to showcase his potential.”
Gasperini also emphasised on the fact that Roma need to create more for Malen to bring the best out of him.
“He’s a developed player and comes from the Premier League where they focus on attacking. We need to work hard on being able to serve him like that; it’s a move we can do. He knows how to dribble and run away quickly.”
Compared to legendary Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
The legendary Gianluca Vialli, whilst working with Roberto Mancini for Italy
On top of that, the Roma manager compared Malen to Matri and even to Italy legend Gianluca Vialli, who padded away in 2023.
“You [Matri] had this movement and scored a lot of goals. Malen has similar movements to yours. Before, people asked me who he reminds me of, a bit of Vialli but also Matri.”
Malen perhaps had more ability than he was able to show at Aston Villa, primarily due to his lack of game time.
Under Unai Emery this season, he made a limited number of starts. Most of his appearances came off the bench. Ultimately, he scored four times in the Premier League and three times in the Europa League. Despite that, the Spaniard never really trusted him as one of his major players.
At Roma, Malen is the focal point of attack and as well as starting regularly, he is getting lots of service. Beyond that, he is showing an ability to take players on and beat them. Indeed, that is a very valuable trait for Gasperini’s system, which specifically emphasises man-to-man pressing.