Something had to give after a tumultuous transfer window forced Unai Emery into making a difficult decision, and Donyell Malen is Aston Villa’s unfortunate fall guy after being omitted from their Champions League squad for the knockout phase.
It will be a difficult pill for the 26-year-old forward to swallow, and he would be right to feel aggrieved, especially as he talked up the Champions League when signing on a permanent deal last month – before the arrivals of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford on loan.
Both Asensio and Rashford made the cut, along with fellow loanee Axel Disasi, while another permanent signing, full-back Andres Garcia, joined Malen in missing out.
“Of course, it’s not a good decision I had to take,” Emery said. “But I spoke with Andres and Donyell to tell them the decision and I argued my decision with them.”
In the end, Emery’s hands were tied. Villa were only able to register three new players, and while adding centre-back Disasi – on loan from Chelsea – was a must in light of Diego Carlos leaving and injuries to Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres, leaving out Asensio or Rashford would have caused a greater stir.
It is therefore difficult to argue against Emery’s decision, which irrespective of his choices would have left him in the unenviable position of already having to repair two new relationships.
In the case of Malen, it feels particularly awkward. The Arsenal academy graduate joined from Borussia Dortmund for £21m, and was brought in not with possible January departures in mind but as a replacement for Moussa Diaby, who left in the summer.
Eager to contribute in the Champions League, Malen said after signing: “It’s the biggest competition in the world. I played in it for the last few years so for me it was a very important thing. It is where you want to play.”
Villa though went on to sign Rashford and Asensio until the end of the season after Jhon Duran left for Al-Nassr and Emiliano Buendia joined Bayer Leverkusen on loan.
It made for a busier window than Villa would have liked, and made for tense press conferences with Emery as he fielded numerous transfer questions post-match.
After the win over Celtic, which secured the remarkable achievement of Villa finishing in the top eight of the Champions League table and thus bypassing the play-off round, Emery was largely asked about Duran and Arsenal’s interest in Ollie Watkins.
This, on the night of one of their biggest achievements this side of the millennium, made for a tetchy 15 minutes, and one where Emery explained players who want to leave will go, and that it is no surprise to see Villa’s squad attracting interest given their exploits in Europe.
And while the window may be mercifully shut for Villa, the problems aren’t over. Malen will now need some convincing that he is in fact a part of Emery’s plans for the second half of the campaign, and beyond the FA Cup all the player can really do is have an input in their bid to return to the Champions League next season via their Premier League finish.
That gives Villa the boost of a player fresh from no midweek action, but what mood Malen is in is a factor Emery will have to man-manage.
It has made Malen the victim of Villa’s short-term mindset, with Asensio and Rashford both regarded as gambles but signed in the hope they can reach their former, at times world-class, levels.
Villa are paying a “sizeable” three quarters of Rashford’s Manchester United salary, believed to be more than £300,000-a-week, and while they have an option to sign him permanently for £40m in the summer, Barcelona will look to rival the Midlands club for the 27-year-old.
There is no option to buy Asensio from Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, but Villa are covering his full wages, and like Rashford this is arguably a case of putting a player in the shop window while they hopefully deliver over the course of the next few months.
“My challenge with him is a huge challenge. His challenge with us is exciting,” Emery said of Rashford. “I don’t want to know the reason he is leaving from Manchester but I am very happy keeping him here and I am very happy to try to exploit and help him recover his performances, individually and collectively.
“The conversation I had with him was a very normal conversation with a player and coach, speaking about football. I only want the best football from him. I think he has huge potential to exploit.”
Villa’s next Champions League tie will be in March in the round of 16, when they will face one of Club Bruges, Sporting, Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta for a place in the quarter-finals.
The prospect of Villa facing Dortmund therefore opens up the possibility of Malen’s old club facing his new club, albeit with the obvious caveat that he cannot play.
Malen helped Dortmund reach the Champions League final last season, and when signing for Villa he said he was “excited” to play in “a lot of big games”.
“I’ll try to help the team and give them something, that’s one of my qualities,” Malen added. “From there, I have to keep pushing and look up.”
Looking up, looking on from the sidelines, Malen would not have been given concrete assurances about playing time but he surely would have expected to be contributing to Villa’s European cause.
Instead, a big test of character awaits. He could sulk, and few could blame him, or he can dig his heels in and contribute in the Premier League.
First, though, a chance in the FA Cup, and while an injury to Ollie Watkins gives Rashford every chance of starting up front at home to Tottenham on Sunday, Malen could also get his opportunity from the off after impressing last weekend against Wolves.
Should he do so, he can expect the first of maybe several grovelling apologies from Emery, and should Rashford and Asensio eventually move on after playing their part, Malen may also have proved by the end of May that he is more than fit to clean their boots.
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