Twenty goals in 22 matches
Since making his Serie A debut on January 18, Donyell Malen has scored 20 goals in 22 appearances. Over that stretch, no player in Italy’s top flight has even reached half that haul. Across Europe’s big five leagues, the Dutch international is at least four clear of his nearest challengers, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal, who are both stuck on 16.
England had filed him away as a near miss. In 2025, wearing an Aston Villa shirt, Malen played 46 games in all competitions but made only 14 starts and scored 10 goals.
Loaned to Rome in January, he scored 14 times in 18 Serie A matches during the loan spell alone. Only Kane, with 16, did better in Europe over that period. The club made the move permanent this summer.
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Different role, same player
The explanation starts with a simple switch in position. At Villa, Malen bounced between centre-forward and the right wing, spending about two-thirds of his minutes up front. In Rome, Gian Piero Gasperini has turned him into a full-time No 9. The difference shows up in the sheer number of chances he gets.
His non-penalty expected goals stand at 4.23 in Serie A this season. That is at least 1.17 more than any other player in the league, and only three players have gone past the 2.0 mark. He is not outperforming his numbers. He is simply getting far more dangerous balls into the box.
The supplier is a familiar name. Paulo Dybala has laid on three of the six assists that have led to Malen goals this season. The Argentine has four in total, the highest tally across Europe’s big five leagues, level with Anthony Gordon and Javi Hernandez. At 32, he had only once topped six Serie A assists since arriving in the capital in 2022. He is already three away from that personal best.
The backdrop to the showdown
The timing is perfect. Roma have won four out of four and conceded once. Their last Scudetto came in 2000-2001, back in the Capello, Totti and Batistuta days.
On Saturday, Inter, who have also started with a perfect record, head to the Stadio Olimpico. Malen will face a defence that put five past his side in April last year.
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