Aston Villa’s attempts to sign Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund could turn into a big swap deal including Ian Maatsen.
That’s according to BILD, who say the German side are hoping that a deal Malen will be concluded as they need the money to do their own business this month.
The newspaper reports that Dortmund are currently negotiating with Aston Villa over Malen. The Premier League side are believed to have offered €18m, but Dortmund want €25m.
The forward is willing to make the move to Villa Park and the German’s want the deal to go through as this is the last window in which they can ‘cash in’ on him given his contract expires in 2026.
They then add that an ‘exciting’ potential side note to the negotiations is the presence of Maatsen at Aston Villa. He joined them in the summer after a loan spell at Dortmund in which he made an immediate impact and reached the Champions League final.
They could not afford his €40m purchase clause and he eventually ended up Aston Villa, where he has barely featured this season.
Dortmund would certainly welcome him back as they’re short at left-back and there are several factors that would ‘speak in favour’ of him returning. He knows the team, coach and environment and would not need any time to adapt.
Maatsen had planned to establish himself at Aston Villa after several loan deals in his career already but with the 2026 World Cup around the corner, he can’t afford to sit on the bench permanently.
That could open up the door to a ‘spectacular swap deal’ involving Malen, who is very much on Aston Villa’s radar this month.
