_13_(Donyell_Malen).jpg) Malen playing forAston Villa in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Donyell Malen[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-01-19)19 January 1999 (age 26)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Wieringen, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2015[4] | Ajax | ||
| 2015–2017 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Jong PSV | 22 | (13) |
| 2018–2021 | PSV Eindhoven | 81 | (40) |
| 2021–2025 | Borussia Dortmund | 94 | (30) |
| 2025– | Aston Villa | 26 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Netherlands U15 | 5 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Netherlands U17 | 10 | (5) |
| 2016–2017 | Netherlands U18 | 8 | (4) |
| 2017–2018 | Netherlands U19 | 10 | (10) |
| 2018–2019 | Netherlands U21 | 8 | (4) |
| 2019– | Netherlands | 49 | (13) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:42, 23 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2025 | |||
Donyell Malen (born 19 January 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as aforward forPremier League clubAston Villa and theNetherlands national team. Malen started his professional career atPSV Eindhoven. At youth level he also featured forAjax andArsenal.[5][4][6][7]
Malen began his career withAjax in 2007. Despite a great deal of resistance coming from Ajax, in 2015 he left Ajax to join English clubArsenal. Malen joined up due to Arsenal being the side of his heroesThierry Henry andDennis Bergkamp.[4][8]
Malen began playing for the youth teams of Arsenal in theYouth Premier League together with theFA Youth Cup, and theUEFA Youth League in the 2015–16 season. He began to display his impressive talent during his debut season for the Gunners.[5] He scored in theFA Youth Cup quarter-final away toCoventry City which Arsenal won on penalties.[9] Coming off the bench, he scored againstManchester City in the semi-final of the2016 FA Youth Cup at theEmirates Stadium.[10] and played 30 times during the season, scoring 14 goals.[5] During the 2016–17 season, Malen was used a great deal on the wing,[11] and was included in the club's 2017–18 pre-season tour of Australia and China.[12] He made his senior debut for Arsenal in a 2–0 win overSydney on 13 July.[13][14]
Malen was sold by Arsenal toPSV Eindhoven in late August 2017.[15]
Malen went on to play as a winger forJong PSV.[16] On 24 November Malen scored a brace in Jong PSV's 6–0 thumping ofTelstar.[17] He again netted in PSV II's 3–0 win overFC Oss on 27 November.[18] Malen scored and picked up an assist in PSV II's 2–3 loss toFortuna upon 4 December.[19]
He again scored in a 1–1 draw away toGo Ahead Eagles on 12 December.[20] Malen went on to be named inVoetbal International's Jupiler League team of the week a day later.[21]
Malen was awarded the Bronze Bull for being the Best Talent for the second period of the2017–18 Jupiler League on 29 January 2018.[22][23] He went to make his debut forPSV in a 4–0Eredivisie win overPEC Zwolle on 3 February.[7] Malen went on to win the2018 Eredivisie title with PSV.[24] He also ended the 2017–18 season as Jong PSV's topscorer.[25]
On 14 September 2019, Malen scored all 5 goals for PSV as they thrashedVitesse.[26] On 29 October 2020, he scored a brace in a 2–1 away win overAC Omonia in the2020–21 UEFA Europa League.[27] Malen had his most productive campaign for PSV during the2020–21 season, scoring 19 goals in 32 matches as his club finished second in theEredivisie.[28] He added a further 8 goals across Europa League andKNVB Cup competition and he also registered 10 assists, displaying his characteristics as a multi-faceted forward.[28]
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On 27 July 2021, Malen completed a move toBundesliga clubBorussia Dortmund, signing a five-year deal.[28] On 28 September 2021, he scored his firstChampions League goal in a 1–0 victory overSporting CP.[29] In the2022–23 season, he scored nine league goals, finishing as his club's joint top scorer alongsideJulian Brandt andSébastien Haller.[30]
On 20 February 2024, he became the first Dutch footballer to score against a team from his country in the Champions League, sinceArjen Robben in 2016, after doing so in a 1–1 draw against his former club PSV.[31] In the 2023–24 season, he set his personal best record in Bundesliga, becoming his club's top scorer in the league with 13 goals.[32] In the same season, he featured in theChampions League final as a substitute, where his club lost 2–0 toReal Madrid.[33]
_13.jpg)
On 13 January 2025, 25-year-old Malen signed forPremier League clubAston Villa for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £21m plus addons.[34][35] He made his debut for Villa on 26 January 2025 as a 65th-minute substitute forLeon Bailey againstWest Ham.[36] On 2 April 2025, Malen scored his first Premier League goal in the 100th minute of a 3–0 away victory againstBrighton & Hove Albion.[37]
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Born in the Netherlands, Malen is of Surinamese descent through his father.[38] He has represented the Netherlands at every age group fromunder-15 to senior level. He was a member of theNetherlands under-17 team that reached the semi-finals of the2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship held inAzerbaijan.[39][40][41][42][43][6]
The 20-year-old Malen made his senior international debut for theNetherlands on 6 September 2019, in aUEFA Euro 2020 qualifier againstGermany in Hamburg. He came off the bench in the 58th minute and scored his team's third goal in a 4–2 victory.[44]
Malen was a member of the Netherlands squad forUEFA Euro 2020 and made his first tournament appearance as an 89th minute substitute in theirGroup B opener againstUkraine on 13 June 2021.[45] He made another appearance from the bench in the second match, assistingDenzel Dumfries' second goal as the Dutch beatAustria to ensure their progress to the knockout rounds.[46] He was selected to start in the team's final group match againstNorth Macedonia and assistedMemphis Depay's opening goal of the 3–0 win.[47] Malen retained his place in the starting line-up for theround of 16 match withCzechia but was substituted after 57 minutes as the Netherlands were beaten 2–0 and eliminated from the tournament.[48]
Malen scored three goals during2022 FIFA World Cup qualification but was omitted from the26-man squad for thetournament finals in Qatar.[49]
In June 2023, Malen was part of the Netherlands' squad for the2023 UEFA Nations League Finals. He scored the opening goal of an eventual 4–2 loss toCroatia in the semi-final and also started the third place play-off loss toItaly, where he was substituted at half time forSteven Bergwijn.[50][51]
On 29 May 2024, Malen was named in the Netherlands' squad forUEFA Euro 2024.[52] In the round of 16 match againstRomania, he scored a brace in a 3–0 victory, securing his country's qualification to the quarter-finals.[53]
Malen is a tremendously quick player who possesses great dribbling skills and an aptitude for prolific goal scoring. He has been likened by ex-Ajax youth coachBrian Tevreden to Chilean forwardAlexis Sánchez.[54]
Born inWieringen,Hollands Kroon, Malen is of Surinamese descent through his father.[38] Malen's mother separated from his father at a young age and he was later raised by his mother and grandparents. Malen's mother re-married when he was seven, and he then lived with his new step-father alongside his four new half-brothers and sisters.[55] Malen recognised his grandmother as the person who most encouraged him to become a footballer, teaching him how to kick a ball when he was three years old.[56] Nicknamed "Don" by his friends and family, Malen was a childhood friend of future Netherlands teammateMatthijs de Ligt.[55]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong PSV | 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 22 | 13 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 13 | ||||
| PSV Eindhoven | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 31 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 42 | 11 | ||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 6 | 1[d] | 0 | 25 | 17 | ||
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 32 | 19 | 3 | 1 | — | 10[f] | 7 | — | 45 | 27 | |||
| Total | 81 | 40 | 5 | 1 | — | 28 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 116 | 55 | |||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[g] | 4 | 1[h] | 0 | 38 | 9 | |
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 26 | 9 | 3 | 1 | — | 6[c] | 0 | — | 35 | 10 | |||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 27 | 13 | 3 | 1 | — | 8[c] | 1 | — | 38 | 15 | |||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 2 | — | 21 | 5 | |||
| Total | 94 | 30 | 10 | 2 | — | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 132 | 39 | |||
| Aston Villa | 2024–25 | Premier League | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 3 | ||
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[f] | 3 | — | 18 | 6 | ||
| Total | 26 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | 37 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 223 | 89 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 305 | 116 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2019 | 4 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 4 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 4 | |
| Total | 49 | 13 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 September 2019 | Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany | 1 |  Germany | 3–2 | 4–2 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying |
| 2 | 30 March 2021 | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar | 8 |  Gibraltar | 5–0 | 7–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 7 September 2021 | Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 15 |  Turkey | 6–0 | 6–1 | |
| 4 | 11 October 2021 | De Kuip,Rotterdam, Netherlands | 16 | Gibraltar | 6–0 | 6–0 | |
| 5 | 14 June 2023 | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands | 22 |  Croatia | 1–0 | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals |
| 6 | 22 March 2024 | Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 29 |  Scotland | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 7 | 10 June 2024 | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands | 32 |  Iceland | 3–0 | 4–0 | |
| 8 | 2 July 2024 | Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany | 35 |  Romania | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 |
| 9 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 10 | 10 June 2025 | Euroborg, Groningen, Netherlands | 43 |  Malta | 5–0 | 8–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 7–0 | ||||||
| 12 | 12 October 2025 | Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 47 |  Finland | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 13 | 17 November 2025 | Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands | 49 |  Lithuania | 4–0 | 4–0 |
PSV Eindhoven
Borussia Dortmund
Individual
Netherlands squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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