It’s been a brutal begin to the season for Manchester United, who’re winless in 9 video games on the spin.
And as Michael Carrick fights to save lots of his job, they need to now discover a option to cope with essentially the most potent ahead in Europe’s high 5 leagues.
Donyell Malen, the reinvented centre-forward, has caught hearth in Italy, a world away from the gifted however unspectacular winger who left Aston Villa.
The 27-year-old arrives at Previous Trafford on Tuesday as Europe’s most prolific striker, with Roma unbeaten in Serie A. Villa let him go for simply £25million.
Roma are contenders in Serie A, and Malen’s targets are the most important motive why.
The Dutchman has totalled 22 targets in 2026. That’s greater than any participant within the massive 5 leagues, together with newly topped Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane.
At Villa, it by no means fairly occurred for him. Malen arrived from Borussia Dortmund in January 2025 – the identical window as Jhon Duran’s departure – however he spent most of his minutes out vast and by no means nailed down a beginning place. Neither wing suited a participant miscast as a pacey wideman.
Donyell Malen has scored 22 league targets in 2026 – greater than even Harry Kane
Malen performed only one and a half seasons at Villa Park, scoring 10 targets in 46 video games
The Dutchman scored simply seven targets in a 12 months at Villa Park, which hid his high quality. He grew into his second season and was named Villa’s Participant of the Month in November; however two months later, he was bought.
‘It was my choice,’ Malen instructed Italian media. ‘I needed to play and be a part of a crew the place I might take the sector each weekend and play an essential position. At that stage, I didn’t really feel essential, so I believe I made the only option.
‘As we speak I really feel I’m in the correct place with the correct individuals. The coach and my teammates present quite a lot of confidence in me, and collectively, all of that is serving to me turn out to be the participant I dreamed of being.’
The indicators of enchancment have been right here earlier than this summer time’s World Cup, although Malen couldn’t discover the web regardless of beginning all three Netherlands group video games. Brian Brobbey was the aspect’ point of interest, returning Malen to a supporting position alongside Cody Gakpo.
It was a shock to Dutch followers, who keep in mind the centre ahead terrorising defences at PSV, the place he scored 19 targets and added eight assists in his remaining full season in 2020-21.
Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini, who joined the membership the earlier summer time, had moved Malen into a job he had not performed in years: striker. The end result was an outrageous 14 targets in 18 video games to complete the season.
Malen has struck up a potent partnership with Paulo Dybala
Malen has rewarded his supervisor’s religion by serving to safe Champions League soccer, a stage the membership haven’t reached since 2018.
Place is simply a part of the story. As soon as pressured to create probabilities, Malen now finishes them. Argentine wizards Matias Soule and Paulo Dybala are his accomplices in a stellar entrance three, feeding him one of the best service in Europe.
Beginning alongside Dybala, Malen obtained off to the right begin to the season with a hat-trick in a 4-0 dwelling win over Fiorentina.
‘Getting off to such begin by scoring a hat-trick was essential,’ he stated. ‘As a crew we have been sturdy and related, and I instantly had an excellent feeling. We will construct on moments like these and do one thing particular. Paulo and I clicked instantly.’
When Dybala’s fixed niggles strike, new signing Rodrigo Mora has proved greater than an enough stand-in, serving to to spearhead Roma’s title cost.
Gasperini has constructed a profession on discovering diamonds within the dust. Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gómez, Josip Ilicic and Ademola Lookman all owe him a debt of gratitude.
Malen isn’t the one one from the Premier League’s discard pile to search out new life in Serie A. Romelu Lukaku, Gianluca Scamacca, Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund have all thrived there.
Even Tottenham flop Kolo Muani loved a wonderful six months in his first spell in Italy.
United’s beleagured defence should discover a option to cease Malen and keep away from extra humiliation
It hasn’t at all times labored – Evan Ferguson and Leon Bailey each disillusioned at Roma – nevertheless it definitely has for Malen. Villa, in the meantime, can solely watch. The sale allowed them to interrupt roughly even, nevertheless it left supporters pissed off, with Duran, Moussa Diaby and Jacob Ramsey additionally bought in recent times.
It got here because the membership labored throughout the Premier League’s monetary constraints.
Now Roma throw down the gauntlet at Previous Trafford, and it might flip from dangerous to ugly for United.
‘I do not assume a lot concerning the idol I am changing into for the followers, I simply wish to rating quite a lot of targets,’ Malen stated just a few weeks in the past. ‘Now we have crew targets to attain and I am targeted on that.’
Malen’s eyes ought to gentle up in opposition to a unstable defence. An enormous evening would push him additional up the race for 2026-27’s high scorer and present English soccer the expertise it solely glimpsed.
