Aston Villa they had an uneven first half Premier League campaign, leaving them in eighth place after 20 games played. The criminals have won nine times, drawn five and lost six, with 32 points, just four points off the top four.
Unai Emery side also sit fifth in UEFA Champions League standings, and there are still two games left in the group stage of this competition. January could be an important month for Villa, in order to better equip themselves for the second half of the season, to compete on all fronts.
One area that Emery could strengthen is his wide forwards, after losing Moussa Diaby this summer, who offered something different when playing in wide areas, as well as the sale of summer signing Jaden Philogene, who did not live up to expectations.
Aston Villa transfer news
According to reports Sky Sports NewsAston Villa have increased their bid to sign Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen.
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Negotiations are expected to continue, with Villa’s new offer said to be around £21m, while Dortmund want closer to £25m.
Tottenham is another team that was linked with a move for Malen in recent days, but Villa appear to be ahead in the race for the 25-year-old striker, having already had a bid rejected earlier in the window.
He has a small one this season he made 21 appearances in all competitionsscoring five goals, one assist and playing a total of 957 minutes.
The perfect Diaby replacement for Aston Villa
The 25-year-old – who is labeled as “unstoppable” in the past, Jacek Kulig – could represent the perfect replacement for Moussa Diaby, should he eventually leave Dortmund.
After signing from Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023 summer transfer window, Diaby was sold to Saudi pro-league side Al Ittihad in the 2024 summer transfer window for a fee of around £50m. Frenchman made 54 appearances for the clubscored ten goals, registered nine assists and played a total of 3,144 minutes.
Diaby was used as a versatile striker for Emery last season, playing as a central striker, attacking midfielder, on the right and on the left. Malen could provide similar versatility while providing a similar toolset to Diaby on this side of Villa.
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Comparison Donyell Malen (2024/25) vs Moussa Diaby (2023/24) |
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|---|---|---|
|
Statistics (per 90 minutes) |
Small |
Diaby |
|
Objectives |
0.39 |
0.30 |
|
Assists |
0.23 |
0.27 |
|
xG |
0.47 |
0.25 |
|
xAG |
0.12 |
0.22 |
|
Progressive Carries |
2.95 |
3.93 |
|
Progressive passes |
2.11 |
3.26 |
|
Total strokes |
2.81 |
2.04 |
|
Key passes |
0.42 |
1.76 |
|
Actions to create a shot |
2.00 |
3.39 |
|
Successful downloads |
1.47 |
1.18 |
|
Statistics taken from FBref |
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Since Diaby left the club, Villa have lacked some of their transition threat, using Diaby’s exit to stretch the squad and mix up their progression routes. He also produced solid results in his first and only season, scoring 0.30 goals per 90 and dishing out 0.27 assists per 90.
While Malen has worse forward numbers, he would offer the same outlet tendencies with his power behind the run, also producing a similar level of output, scoring 0.39 goals per 90 this season and dishing out 0.23 assists per 90. Not to mention, the Dutchman also brings higher impact volume and completes a more successful takeover.
So far this season, Malen has shown his versatility in Dortmund’s front line, playing both on the left and right, as well as through the middle at times.
This versatility mixed with the pace and power he offers in transition would allow Villa to effectively replace Diaby, perhaps six months later than planned.
