Donyell Malen has made an excellent start at AS Roma, but Antonio Cassano isn't getting carried away
Donyell Malen of AS Roma
Donyell Malen of AS Roma(Image: AS Roma via Getty Images)
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Former Italy international Antonio Cassano has urged perspective regarding Donyell Malen’s impressive start at AS Roma.
Under Gian Piero Gasperini, Malen has made five appearances and scored five goals, including braces in his last two matches.
After scoring on his debut against Torino FC in a 2-0 away win, Malen went goalless against Udinese Calcio and AC Milan. However, he is now in red-hot form, netting four goals across his last two games.
Malen scored both of Roma’s goals against Cagliari Calcio, before following up with another brace against Napoli on Sunday night.
The Dutch forward joined on loan from Aston Villa in January and is expected to make the move permanent under a previously agreed obligation to buy, contingent on certain conditions.
While some have argued that letting Malen leave Villa was a mistake, Cassano insists that the Premier League is a much stronger competition than the Italian top-flight.
“Malen is an excellent player, but Serie A is five steps below the Premier League,” Cassano said.
“Those who come to Italy from England make the difference. He was also a bench player at Borussia Dortmund.
“Gasperini really likes him, and he found the right player; Roma did well to sign him. Malen is perfect for this type of football.
“Emery is one of the best coaches in the world, he probably wasn’t at his level in England.”
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Villa were happy to let Malen leave if the right deal arose, as they did not want to stand in the player’s way in his pursuit of more regular minutes as a striker.
Gasperini, who has provided Malen opportunities that his previous coach was unwilling to, praised the Dutch striker following the 2-2 draw with Napoli on Sunday.
“I’ve always firmly believed in Malen: he has the best possible attributes a player can have in my opinion,” Gasperini said.
“This team needs a forward like him. He is often in a position to be dangerous, and his team-mates deserve credit too. He has just arrived and we can keep improving.
“Then with Dybala if he recovers, plus Soule, who wasn’t 100 per cent fit today, and El Shaarawy, we could be more competitive. Malen is not only good at penalties but also at free kicks. It wasn’t easy against a keeper like Milinkovic-Savic; he did a good job.
“Of course, had we had Malen in the first half of the season, we would have a few more points now. But we’ve grown in terms of attitude. We’ve won many games, but we’ve lost many head-to-head matches. We sometimes came close to picking up points.
“We’re doing better in this second half of the season, despite drawing with Milan and Napoli. We’re disappointed with these two results as we came close to winning both games.”
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