Aston Villa submit improved offer for Donyell Malen | OneFootball

Aston Villa have stepped up their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen, submitting an improved offer for the Dutchman.

That’s according to BILD, who report that Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl isn’t budging from his €25m-€30m valuation of Malen, with Villa’s first offer reportedly around €18m. Earning between €5m and €6m at Dortmund, Unai Emery’s Villa are luring Malen to the Birmingham club with a reported salary of around £7m (€8.5m).

Malen came to Germany with high expectations after scoring 19 and creating eight in 32 Eredivisie games in his final year at PSV, prompting Dortmund to splash €30m on the forward in 2021, but 131 games and 39 goals later, fans have often become frustrated with the former Arsenal academy product.

This season has seen Malen score just three in 13 Bundesliga games under Nuri Sahin with Dortmund languishing in sixth, 11 points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

A departure is now likely with Dortmund eyeing up a replacement. Die Schwarzgelben had set their sights on Manchester City’s James McAtee but earlier today, it was reported that Borussia Dortmund are one of the teams interested in signing Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford on loan.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder