Donyell Malen has found form at Aston Villa after scoring in his last two appearances
Donyell Malen has put the disappointment of being left out of Aston Villa’s Champions League squad behind him.
Signed from Borussia Dortmund for £20m in January, Malen had expected to play a role in Villa’s Champions League campaign during the knockout rounds.
However, following the three loan additions of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Axel Disasi, Unai Emery made the difficult decision to leave Malen out of his Champions League squad.
UEFA rules permit clubs to add three new players to their squad after the winter window, even though Villa signed five new players, with Andres Garcia also joining from Levante.
The Spanish right-back and Malen were sacrificed for the three loan additions, who all played their part in Villa’s 6-1 aggregate win over Club Brugge in the round of 16 last month.
“It’s not the easiest thing,” Malen said about being left out. “We [with Emery] spoke about it. For me, as a player, you have to keep going forward. We have so much to play for in the Premier League and the FA Cup.
“That’s what I told myself. Of course, you have to keep looking at the positive things.
“It’s not an easy decision for [Emery] him to make. It’s a long time ago for me. Sometimes life hits you from an angle you don’t expect, but that’s part of football, but you keep going.”
Asked if he feels he can make a difference in the Premier League and FA Cup, Malen said: “They’re the only games I can play! Even if I were playing in the Champions League, my attitude would be the same. Every game is 90 minutes. Every game you have chances.”
Malen scored his first goal for Villa last Wednesday, before making scoring in successive Premier League appearances on Saturday by doubling Villa’s lead against Nottingham Forest.
“You knew it was going to be a tough game,” Malen said of the 2-1 win. “They’re an awkward team to play against, so in the end, we won.
“When you join a new club, you have to change a few things…I’m really happy to be here.
“It’s part of football, you know. You come to a club that’s going forward with a lot of good players. You know how football works, so it keeps you motivated.
“That’s what you have to do [respond]. I came here to enjoy my football and score goals. If you are forward, you want to score goals.
“If you look at the effort and the fight against a difficult team, every player who came on gave everything. From there, you can see we are looking up.
“It’s very competitive [Premier League]. Every team has many qualities and good players. It’s intense and physical, and I enjoy it. I play with a smile on my face.
“The coach has said that we will need everybody. We need all our players. I think we have got the players as well.
“I think everybody is ready. That’s the most important thing. We have a lot of quality in the team. Even today, he made eight changes.”
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