Ian Maatsen was key to Donyell Malen joining Aston Villa in the January transfer window, convincing his former teammate and compatriot of the move.
That’s according to Maatsen, who has been speaking to Ruhr Nachrichten about the move and how Maatsen convinced him of it.
Malen moved to Aston Villa from Borussia Dortmund in January, sealing a €25m move midway through the month as Unai Emery looked to bolster his forward options.
The transfer finally brought the Dutch forward back to the Premier League after years of speculation about a return while he impressed in the Bundesliga.
He previously played in England for Arsenal’s U23’s before heading back to the Netherlands with PSV in 2017 and establishing himself there before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
It’s been something of a slow start to life at Villa Park for him as he’s yet to score or assist in seven games and has found himself overshadowed by fellow January arrivals Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford.
There is confidence he will be a key player moving forwards, though, and Maatsen says he played his part in getting him to make the switch earlier this year.
“I’m very close to him and I’m delighted he’s joined Aston Villa,” he said.
“It’s great to share the pitch with him because we know each other inside and out. I hope we can make great history together.”
Malen was happy to confirm this, revealing he’s very close to his fellow Dutchman after they played together in Dortmund last season.
“Yes,” he said when questioned whether Maatsen convinced him.
“I am very close to him. We talked about the club, the city and everything else, it was positive, so it helped.
“I’m just happy to be here and really enjoy it. You come here to play against the best players in the world. I like that very much.”
