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The memories will surely come flooding back for Donyell Malen. Perhaps in the minutes before arriving at the Emirates Stadium. Maybe en route if Aston Villa’s team bus bypasses St Albans, where he lived in an apartment, a few miles up the road from Arsenal’s training base in Hertfordshire. On Saturday the forward, Villa’s new signing from Borussia Dortmund, could make his Premier League debut at the club where he spent two years as a youngster. He left Ajax for London at 16 but returned aged 18 to the Netherlands with their rivals PSV Eindhoven, and there Malen began to realise his potential.
Malen excelled during six months with Jong PSV, outscoring Cody Gakpo to finish the 2017-18 season as the under-23s’ top goalscorer and making his first-team Eredivisie debut in the February of a title-winning campaign. “He was at Arsenal doing his thing, a good player but not using all his skills,” says Twan Scheepers, now the Jong PSV manager, who worked closely with Malen as an individual attacking coach and the assistant manager.
“We gave him directions to make the best of his attributes and after he started to use his speed better and more. For example, he made more runs behind the defensive line and attacked the 18-yard box quicker, where he was extremely dangerous. In his first two or three months he liked to play towards the ball and just to have the ball, but his efficiency got better and better and better.”
Villa have landed a long-term target. Malen, a Dortmund substitute in the Champions League final last season, ticks lots of boxes for Villa’s manager, Unai Emery, also formerly of Arsenal, because he can play across the front line: on either wing, as a No 9 or behind the striker. The Netherlands manager, Ronald Koeman, previously highlighted how Malen, who has 41 caps, offered his side natural balance as a right-footer on the right, rather than wanting to cut inside off the left.
At Dortmund Malen dovetailed with the left-back Ian Maatsen, another Dutchman who joined Villa last summer, but he will probably line up on the right, where Leon Bailey, who has struggled to replicate his best form, has operated for much of this season, allowing Morgan Rogers to thrive centrally.
There is an argument Malen, who turns 26 on Sunday, is only getting started. He has impressive pedigree and plenty of experience since joining Ajax aged nine. “Donyell was always one of the top talents in the academy,” says Brian Tevreden, who coached Malen in Ajax’s under-14s and under-15s, where teammates included Justin Kluivert, Matthijs de Ligt and Sergiño Dest. “In his first year with me he struggled a little bit, he was still growing so he had a lot of injuries with his knees, which are usual when you are in that growth period.
“I was a little bit harsh on him in the first season. I didn’t have to teach him about football but more about the importance of work ethic. Goals, speed, technique, he had all that already, but it was more about understanding how to be a professional. It was a bit of tough love. About five years ago I was shopping in the centre of Amsterdam and he was with his girlfriend. The great thing he said was: ‘Now I’m older, I understand what you were trying to do with me. I’m not angry, I know what you were trying to do.’ Now he is working his socks off.”
Liftoff at Arsenal never arrived, though he featured for Arsène Wenger’s side on their pre-season tour of Australia in 2017 against Sydney FC, a game in which his now clubmate Emiliano Martínez also featured. Andries Jonker, Arsenal’s then academy manager, implied two years later that Malen struggled because he was overweight. Arsenal’s then head of youth development, Steve Morrow, doubted whether Malen ever really settled. He departed with seven goals in 24 appearances for Arsenal’s under-23s and 27 in 67 across the academy age-groups.
Malen was born in Wieringen, between Alkmaar and Amsterdam. His mother, Mariska, worked night shifts for a taxi company in the village of Westerland, 35 miles north. She and a two-year-old Malen moved there to be closer to her parents after splitting from his Surinamese father, Robert, but regularly visited Malen in England. Tevreden says: “In that period I was the sporting director of Reading so I met him once or twice and I met their head of academy [Jonker], who was my youth coach, a couple of times. Donyell didn’t hit it off at Arsenal but it was a good step for him to realise how much he had to do. Villa have quite a young squad and I think he will fit in, especially with their playing style. I think he wants to prove himself in the Premier League.”
Malen’s last game at the Emirates was a 4-3 victory over Manchester City in front of 2,814 for Arsenal’s under-23s, he and Reiss Nelson supporting Eddie Nketiah in attack. Jack Wilshere was among the senior players in the lineup but was sent off for sparking a brawl. Villa’s away allocation this weekend exceeds the attendance that day. “I think he will be really excited about maybe making his debut there,” says Scheepers. “It will be special for him but I don’t think he will be more nervous or stressed that it’s Arsenal.
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“He is thankful and full of respect for everybody that has helped him become a professional. He is an open guy with a great personality. But I think he still likes to win.” Malen’s return is an obvious subplot. “It is a good game for him to show them what kind of player he became, how he has developed,” Tevreden says.
Roger Schmidt, Malen’s manager at PSV when he scored 27 goals in 45 appearances in 2020-21, described him as a “100% team player”. That season he flourished alongside Gakpo, Noni Madueke and Eran Zahavi. Those numbers prompted Dortmund to pay €30m to sign him to replace Jadon Sancho, whom he played alongside when the forward returned on loan last year. His first season was alongside Erling Haaland.
“I also worked with Gakpo and it’s been great to see him play, develop and have a great life in the Premier League, which is the top level, because England is the best place to play the game,” says Scheepers, a former PSV striker who was part of Phillip Cocu’s staff at Derby in the Championship. “Myself and all of the academy staff are very proud of Cody. I hope Donyell will also impress in the division, just like Cody has for Liverpool. Now it’s Donyell’s time.”
