Aston Villa agree deal for new forward despite links with Tottenham
Aston Villa have reportedly agreed a deal to sign a 25-year-old forward despite rumoured interest from Tottenham Hotspur just last week.
Tottenham were linked with Donyell Malen
The player in question is Donyell Malen, who has been a key feature of Borussia Dortmund’s side since his move to the club three and a half years ago.
Although a right winger by trade, the Netherlands international can operate on the left or through the middle and has an eye for goal, having scored 39 times and provided 20 assists in 132 outings for the German club.
It was reported earlier this week that Spurs were holding internal discussions on whether to push ahead with a move for Malen.
However, the report explained that Aston Villa were the frontrunners to land the Dortmund star, having held advanced negotiations over the player.
Aston Villa agree deal for Donyell Malen
Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas revealed on Sky’s transfer centre live blog that the Villans had put an offer of £21m on the table for Malen, who has just 18 months left on his contract at the Westfalenstadion.
The journalist revealed that the Premier League side’s offer was close to the fee that Dortmund were demanding, which was thought to be around £25m.
Fabrizio Romano has now taken to Twitter to give the move his ‘here we go’ seal of approval, with Aston Villa paying €23m plus €3m in add-ons to get the deal done.
Donyell Malen was not a priority for Tottenham
The fact that Spurs pushed ahead with talks over a deal for Randal Kolo Muani is clear evidence that the Frenchman is the club’s number-one target.
However, should they miss out on the Kolo Muani, I wonder whether they will regret not moving for Malen. The former Ajax man is not too dissimilar in profile to Kolo Muani as he can operate across the frontline, but Spurs would perhaps have preferred a loan rather than a permanent deal anyway.
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