It has been a busy window for Aston Villa so far this January. They have wasted no time aiming to improve their squad both in the short and long term, targeting a few new additions.
Unai Emery’s side will be hoping to build on their start to the Premier League season, which sees them sit in seventh place on 35 points.
Indeed, there are two long-term investments that look set to join. One of those is young Turkish defender Yasin Ozcan from Kasimpasa, as confirmed by Ben Jacobs on Tuesday. The same day, The Athletic also reported a deal for young French attacker Tidiam Gomis was close.
However, the Villans’ marquee signing so far this January has been Donyell Malen.
Malen’s move to Villa
Probably the most notable transfer in the Premier League so far this winter has been Malen’s move from Borussia Dortmund to the West Midlands. He joined Emery’s squad for a reported fee of £19m upfront and a further £2.5m in add-ons.
Interestingly, the move to Villa Park is a return to English football for the Dutch attacker. He previously played for Arsenal’s academy for two years between 2015 and 2017, joining PSV Eindhoven for £540k.
Now, as he makes his return to English shores, the progress Malen has made since he was a youngster at Hale End is clear to see. He has 39 goals and 20 assists in 139 games for Dortmund, which included a goal and assist away to Real Madrid in the Champions League this season.
The 25-year-old’s best campaign as a professional footballer came in 2020/21, for PSV, when he scored 27 times and grabbed ten assists in 45 games. Villa will be hoping he can show that kind of form when donning that famous Claret and Blue shirt.
The signing of Malen is certainly good news for the West Midlands outfit as a whole. However, the same cannot really be said for one of their players, attacker Emiliano Buendia, who now seems to be further down the pecking order.
The Aston Villa star who may now be sold
Argentine attacking midfielder Bunedia joined the Villans from Norwich City in June 2021 for £33m, which was a club-record deal at the time. However, things have not really worked out for the 28-year-old during his time at the club.
He has played 95 times in all competitions so far, finding the back of the net on ten occasions and grabbing nine assists. His finest moment in a Villans shirt came against Burnley, where he scored and assisted in a 3-1 win at Turf Moor.
Sadly, injuries have really marred the Argentine’s time at Villa Park. He missed the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. It kept him out for just short of a year, with the Villa number ten missing 56 games in that time.
It is a real shame that the former Norwich star has not been able to find his best form at Villa Park. As football statistician Statman Dave once said, he was a “genius on the ball” at Carrow Road.
His final season with the East Anglian side, in 2020/21, was extraordinary, as the Sofascore stats show. He scored and assisted 31 goals and created 18 big chances.
Stat
Number
Goals
15
Assists
16
Chances created
18
Key passes per game
3.1
Dribbles completed per game
1.6
Dribble success rate per game
62%
Duels won per game
6.9
There are reports that Buendia – who reportedly earns £100k-per-week at Villa Park – could depart the club before the transfer window slams shut at the start of February. Leeds United are believed to ‘retain an interest’ in the Argentine, which would see him reunite with former Norwich boss Daniel Farke.
Either way, it seems like the Argentine’s time at Villa Park is coming to an end. He has been a fantastic servant for the club over the past few years, but sadly it feels like the Villa faithful have never really seen his best form.
With the signing of Malen, it might well be time for Buendia to leave Villa once and for all this winter.
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