He’s Doing Tactical Work We Need – Unai Emery On Aston Villa Star | OneFootball

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has expressed his happiness for striker Donyell Malen after his recent goalscoring form for the Villans and stressed the side need his tactical work.

Malen contributed with a goal and assist in his cameos against Bournemouth and Leeds United, respectively, prompting Emery to start him over out of form Ollie Watkins, in the last two games.

The Dutch international repaid his manager by scoring a brace in the 2-1 win against Swiss side Young Boys in the Europa League encounter on Thursday.

The recent upturn in Malen’s form has also put a doubt over the future of Watkins, with former Premier League striker Darren Bent deeming him the perfect fit for David Moyes’ Everton.

The Villa boss however, has shown complete faith in the England international, praising his positive approach for the team and predicted that goals are coming for Watkins.

Emery is also very happy with his other striker, Malen, who is not only helping the team with his overall performances but also scoring the goals, he feels.

“They are two very good players and they are both playing”, Emery said during a pre-match press conference when asked about his preferred starting striker.

“Ollie Watkins, he has my complete confidence.

“He is always doing his task.

“Maybe he is feeling under his normal confidence because he is not scoring, but he is never giving up about his task.

“He is always doing positive work for the team and he is very important for us. And the goals are coming, sure.

“Malen, I am so, so happy how he is getting his challenge.

“He is adding for us the work we need tactically and of course, playing minutes, he’s going to score because he is a scorer normally.”

Malen joined Aston Villa in January 2025 from German side Borussia Dortmund but has failed to establish himself as a regular starter under Emery until the last two games.

A consistent goal scoring run from Malen will surely make him a permanent feature in the Spaniard’s lineup as Villa continue to battle for the Champions League positions in the busy festive month ahead.