Donyell Malen fires AS Rome revival as prolific winter signing keeps Champions League push alive | OneFootball

Since arriving in January, Donyell Malen has been scoring relentlessly, keeping AS Rome competitive in Serie A and sustaining their Champions League hopes. He has been the most effective winter signing across Europe’s big five leagues.

Harry Kane scored again in Bayern Munich’s 4-3 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday. In 2026 league goals he leads the Bundesliga with 12, level with Vedat Muriqi, with Malen next on 10 in Serie A. "He is a complete player from the Premier League, he can hurt teams in space with dribbling and speed, and he makes the right runs," said coach Gian Piero Gasperini to DAZN.

The 27-year-old joined from Aston Villa after one day of talks as AS Rome sought emergency help up front. He arrived on a paid loan worth two million euros with a 25 million euros option to buy. The team were solid at the back but blunt in attack.

He quickly eclipsed the misfiring Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson. His league haul, plus one in the Europa League, has already put him fourth in the scoring charts in a division where centre-forwards are often asked to graft first.

AS Rome still hover around sixth, much as in recent seasons. Malen has absorbed Gasperini’s ideas quickly and, despite excelling previously as a winger at Borussia Dortmund and for the Netherlands, he is proving a precise penalty-area finisher and an astute foil with his back to goal.

After his hat-trick in last week’s 3-0 win over Pisa, the decision to use him at centre-forward, a role he wanted, looked vindicated.

Source: L'Équipe