Malen: ‘Gasperini wants me to play upfront for Roma’ | OneFootball

Donyell Malen reveals what Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini told him about his role, as he makes his debut against Torino after the move from Aston Villa.

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from all today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.

LECCE, ITALY – JANUARY 06: Head coach of AS Roma Gian Piero Gasperini looks on prior the Serie A match between US Lecce and AS Roma at Stadio Via del Mare on January 06, 2026 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)

These teams met on Tuesday evening, when Torino knocked Roma out of the Coppa Italia Round of 16 with a 3-2 thriller in the Capital.

However, since then the Giallorossi have added Malen and Robinio Vaz to the group, and the Dutch striker is thrown straight into the starting XI for his debut.

Malen makes Roma debut from the start

Donyell Malen holds up his Roma shirt after joining the Giallorossi on loan with a potential obligation to buy from Aston Villa (picture via www.asroma.com)

“My goal is to play games, score goals, this team has a lot of things to achieve, so I’m looking forward to it,” Malen told Sky Sport Italia.

It is no secret that Gasperini has been frustrated by the movements of strikers Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson, sometimes using Paulo Dybala as a centre-forward.

So did he speak to Malen about the kind of role he wants the Dutch international to fulfil?

“He wants me to play upfront, to get at defenders, and score as many goals as possible. I think we are a good team, we are among the top teams, so we’ve got to win games and keep going.”

Donyell Malen poses for selfies as the Aston Villa striker flies in for his Roma medical

Malen was snapped up from Aston Villa on loan for €2m, with an option to buy that can become an obligation for a further €25m at the end of the season.

He will start against Torino with support from Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini, as Dovbyk, Ferguson, Stephan El Shaarawy, Leon Bailey and Tommaso Baldanzi are all injured.