Aston Villa made a significant move during the 2024-25 winter transfer window, securing Donyell Malen’s signing from Borussia Dortmund for $25M with hopes of bolstering their squad for the Champions League. However, in an unexpected turn of events, coach Unai Emery opted to include Marcus Rashford over Malen for the European competition.

Following Jhon Duran’s high-profile move to Al Nassr, Aston Villa acted quickly to strengthen their attack. Malen, whose arrival was seen as a key step forward, joined Villa in a permanent deal to add firepower ahead of the club’s Champions League campaign.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Malen expressed his excitement about the Champions League. “You see the club going forward in the Champions League, top eight, which is a very big thing. We just have to keep looking forward,”,” he said. When asked if the best was yet to come, Malen added, “I really hope so.”

However, Emery’s decision regarding the Champions League knockout squad saw Rashford—currently on loan from Manchester United for the remainder of the season—be selected ahead of Malen, leaving the Dutch forward off the list.

“Being back in the Champions League is hugely exciting. It’s the biggest competition for a club, and there are always great nights. I’m sure it will be a great experience for me playing for Villa in the Champions League,” Rashford shared, setting high expectations for the competition.

Emery explains Malen’s exclusion

With the transfer window winding down, Emery made the difficult decision to include Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Axel Disasi in his Champions League squad. With limited slots available, this meant Malen and Andres Garcia were left out. Emery addressed the decision in a press conference on Friday, offering a candid explanation:

“The rules only can accept and register three changes. We did more changes in the transfer window than we wanted. Even though we lost one player more because Jaden (Philogene) was a club-trained player and we lost the opportunity through him to have one more.

“We changed five players and can only register three. The decisions we had to take yesterday and are out are Andres Garcia and Donyell Malen,” the coach admitted. “Of course, it’s not a good decision I had to take yesterday, but I spoke with Andres and Donyell to tell them the decision and I argued my decision with them,” he revealed.

With Malen snubbed and Rashford in, Aston Villa are currently in the round of 16 after finishing 8th in the table. Possible opponents from the playoffs include Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Sporting CP, or Club Brugge.