Former Arsenal academy player Donyell Malen is leaving the Premier League to join AS Roma on an initial loan from Aston Villa, according to a report.
Fabrizio Romano reports that AS Roma have reached a verbal agreement to sign Donyell Malen on an initial loan from Aston Villa, with the player now authorised to travel to Italy.
Roma will pay a £2m loan fee, with a £25m purchase clause that will become mandatory under certain conditions linked to Roma qualifying for European football.
The news comes exactly a year after Malen first signed for Villa, joining the club on January 14th, 2025.
Jacob Tanswell had reported for The Athletic earlier this week that Malen’s future would depend on the offers Villa received, as well as what Unai Emery thinks about letting him go.
At that point, Malen hadn’t decided whether to stay at Villa or pursue alternative options. But it seems both Emery and Malen have now made up their minds.
Malen has been consistently involved in Villa’s fixtures this season, appearing in all 29 of their games in all competitions. But that’s a somewhat misleading statistic, as the forward has only started five Premier League matches, coming off the bench in the other 16.
Malen spent two years in the Arsenal academy before joining PSV in 2017. He’s since made transfers to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2021 and Aston Villa in January 2025.
The Dutch international may have had a particular focus on guaranteeing minutes in the second half of the season, with the World Cup coming up this summer.