Aston Villa are eyeing an “unstoppable” £25m replacement for Jhon Duran

Aston Villa supporters will be hoping that January is a far simpler month for their team in terms of wins collected, with December proving to be a topsy-turvy period for those connected to the Villans.

Although there were impressive wins over Manchester City, Unai Emery‘these men have also been on the receiving end of heavy defeat here and there, seen in two 3-0 defeats to Chelsea and Newcastle United.

So the priority in this transfer window could be strengthening at the back to ensure they don’t get close to more depressing losses, but Villa appear to be on the lookout for even more explosive firepower up top.

Aston Villa rekindled interest in the “unstoppable” striker

According to a report by Daily Mail, Villa look set to rekindle their interest in Borussia Dortmund striker Donyell Malen this January, with the Dutchman valued at around £25m.

The report goes on to say that the Premier League side are looking to make around three new additions to try and boost morale, with the West Midlands outfit currently below ninth in the league.

The 25-year-old’s arrival on the scene would no doubt raise the level of entertainment at Villa Park, which was once described as “unstoppable” from talent scout Jacek Kulig when he made a name for himself as a goal machine playing in his native country.

This rekindled interest in Malen could signal a potential departure John Duranwhich would be a devastating blow for Emery and company, but which would be softened by the Dortmund ace entering the building.

What Malen could offer Aston Villa

Much like the mesmerizing Duran, Malen has a reputation as a more lethal finisher wherever he’s been in his career so far.

Indeed, the former Arsenal youngster was a hit at PSV Eindhoven before a big move to the Bundesliga opened up for him, with 55 strikes buried out of a total of 116 competitions.

However, not all of those goals were typical attacking finishes, as can be seen from PSV’s outrageous strike in 2020, which certainly caught Dortmund’s eye.

Since then he has picked up an impressive 39 goals and 20 assists playing for the German giants, and Dortmund got a lot of joy out of the 25-year-old by playing him as a winger rather than deploying him as a traditional centre-forward, showing a versatility that Emery will likely be a fan of.

Looking at the table above, Malen is an extremely adaptable piece in attack, and his game is not too dissimilar to Luiz Diaz – another versatile piece – according to FBref’s similar player tool.

Over the past year, the Dutchman has matched his Colombian counterpart in many different areas, with both players boasting similar shots per game at 3.30 and 3.17 respectively, while always being able to receive the ball and make something happen with 9.96 progressive additions receives Malen during the last year in addition Diaz 10.16.

While recruiting more entertaining strikers doesn’t appear to be Emery’s top priority, Villa will need to be ready for the team to come wild for Duran soon, given his excellent ability 12 goal comeback this season.

So Malen could be the answer, offering the top side a contingency plan should Duran suddenly leave, and additionally giving them even more options on both wings.