Malen: ‘Gasperini want me to play upfront for Roma’ with first start

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 27: Donyell Malen of Aston Villa looks on with a cut on his head during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match between Aston Villa FC and BSC Young Boys at Villa Park on November 27, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Donyell Malen reveals what Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini told him about his role, as he makes his debut against Torino after the move from Aston Villa.

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from all today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.

These teams met on Tuesday evening, when Torino knocked Roma out of the Coppa Italia Round of 16 with a 3-2 thriller in the Capital.

However, since then the Giallorossi have added Malen and Robinio Vaz to the group, and the Dutch striker is thrown straight into the starting XI for his debut.

Malen makes Roma debut from the start

“My goal is to play games, score goals, this team has a lot of things to achieve, so I’m looking forward to it,” Malen told Sky Sport Italia.

It is no secret that Gasperini has been frustrated by the movements of strikers Artem Dovbyk and Evan Ferguson, sometimes using Paulo Dybala as a centre-forward.

So did he speak to Malen about the kind of role he wants the Dutch international to fulfil?

“He wants me to play upfront, to get at defenders, and score as many goals as possible. I think we are a good team, we are among the top teams, so we’ve got to win games and keep going.”

Malen was snapped up from Aston Villa on loan for €2m, with an option to buy that can become an obligation for a further €25m at the end of the season.

He will start against Torino with support from Dybala and Lorenzo Pellegrini, as Dovbyk, Ferguson, Stephan El Shaarawy, Leon Bailey and Tommaso Baldanzi are all injured.

Donyell Malen is set to make his @ASRomaEN debut 👋#TorinoRoma pic.twitter.com/9yI9tVT5Z7

— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) January 18, 2026