Donyell Malen

[PaulWinch again]

We need better than Malen. He will want more than he gets but he's not good enough to get it with us.

That might well be true, but at the same time he’s having a very useful season and is making an impact. There is a balance between getting on where we want to be and what we need in the immediate to medium term. If there is a higher quality player we can get in then fine, but there’s still an element of gamble to that.

[frank black]

I think he’s a good player, but he’s an expensive impact sub at the moment.

I think key here is that he’s a good player settled in the squad and on the pitch. Selling him and not replacing with a ‘Sure thing’ midway through a title race, is a massive risk.

[Mister E]

I think he’s a good player, but he’s an expensive impact sub at the moment.

I think key here is that he’s a good player settled in the squad and on the pitch. Selling him and not replacing with a ‘Sure thing’ midway through a title race, is a massive risk.

There has to be a replacement coming in or we wouldn't be selling.

[RamboandBruno]

I think he’s a good player, but he’s an expensive impact sub at the moment.

I think key here is that he’s a good player settled in the squad and on the pitch. Selling him and not replacing with a ‘Sure thing’ midway through a title race, is a massive risk.

There has to be a replacement coming in or we wouldn't be selling.

Guessand back from AFCON…..I’ll get my coat..

[Smithy]

PSR again. PSR again. PSR again, PSR again, PSR again.

According to reports in Italy we're only asking €18m (£15.6m). We must be skint and desperate if true.

£24 million is the latest according to BBC football gossip

If he IS to go to Roma, and Tammy is heading back this way FROM Roma, I wonder if there will be some PSR jiggery pokery going on a la Iroegbunam and Dobbin? Where their respective values are slightly inflated so both clubs get a short term boost the finances?  Obviously it has to be within reason, but a few extra million for each of them might help both parties.

[aev]

Isn't Ornstein suggesting it isn't happening ?

[eamonn]

UEFA are wise to that shit now after a few of us tried it on, aren't they?

[Villatillidie25]

PSR again. PSR again. PSR again, PSR again, PSR again.

According to reports in Italy we're only asking €18m (£15.6m). We must be skint and desperate if true.

£24 million is the latest according to BBC football gossip

If he IS to go to Roma, and Tammy is heading back this way FROM Roma, I wonder if there will be some PSR jiggery pokery going on a la Iroegbunam and Dobbin? Where their respective values are slightly inflated so both clubs get a short term boost the finances?  Obviously it has to be within reason, but a few extra million for each of them might help both parties.

Won’t get past UEFA. Rumour is we had a deal lined up for Osula at Newcastle at the end of the window but uefa said they’d remove the Ramsey revenue as it was essentially a swap deal (even though the transfers would have been weeks apart).

[tomd2103]

I think he’s a good player, but he’s an expensive impact sub at the moment.

I think key here is that he’s a good player settled in the squad and on the pitch. Selling him and not replacing with a ‘Sure thing’ midway through a title race, is a massive risk.

There has to be a replacement coming in or we wouldn't be selling.

You would think there would have to be. 

[aldridgeboy]

Seen this on X/ Fb. Zero idea if this is how it actually works, but reads well and sounds like it could be.

How Aston Villa could create PSR headroom in January 2026 (explained)

Football finance isn’t about cash — it’s about accounting. And that’s where this potential Aston Villa scenario gets interesting.

Let’s set the scene.

Villa signed Donyell Malen for £20m on 14 January 2025. If he’s on a standard 5-year contract, his fee is spread at £4m per year. By January 2026, only one year has hit the books, meaning Malen still has a book value of roughly £16m.

Now imagine Villa do the following:

• Loan Malen to Roma for £1.5m
• Include an obligation to buy for £25m
• Buy Tammy Abraham for €20m (around £17m) on a 5-year deal

On the pitch, it looks like a straight exchange of forwards. On the balance sheet, it’s a very different story.

📊 The Malen side

If Roma’s obligation to buy is written in a way that makes it effectively certain, Villa can usually treat it as a sale immediately for PSR purposes.

That means:

• Sale price: £25m
• Remaining book value: ~£16m
• Instant accounting profit: ~£9m

Add the £1.5m loan fee, and Villa book around £10.5m of PSR benefit in the current season.

📉 The Tammy Abraham side

Villa’s purchase of Tammy Abraham works the opposite way.

A £17m fee over a 5-year contract means:

• £3.4m per year hits the PSR calculations
• Not £17m all at once

So in the same season Villa record over £10m of income, they only take a £3.4m charge for Tammy’s transfer fee (wages and agents aside).

🔁 The PSR effect

Put together:

• +£10.5m from Malen
• −£3.4m for Abraham

➡️ Net PSR improvement of roughly £7m in January 2026

That’s the key mechanism:
profits are booked immediately, costs are spread over time.

🚨 Why this attracts scrutiny

If two deals are clearly linked, regulators may ask:

• Is Malen really worth £25m?
• Is Tammy’s price conveniently low?
• Are the deals helping one club’s PSR position more than reflecting market value?

If valuations are deemed artificial, adjustments can be made. But if the numbers are defensible, the structure itself is allowed.

🧠 The takeaway

This is classic PSR engineering:

• Immediate accounting profit
• Deferred costs
• Squad strength maintained
• Risk pushed into future seasons

It’s legal. It’s clever. And it shows why modern transfers are as much about spreadsheets as they are about football.

[LeeB]

There's interest in him but we're happy with him and not actively trying to punt him as it stands, according to the Athletic this morning.

[Baldy]

If finances permit, I would keep him. Never hides, energetic, good finisher and never moans even though he rarely starts. His involvement in both our goals against Spuds a few days ago underlines his importance in a successful squad.

[aev]

Atleti now sniffing around the Don.

[PaulWinch again]

Atleti now sniffing around the Don.

After yesterday that’d be a hard no.

[Drummond]

We need better than Malen. He will want more than he gets but he's not good enough to get it with us.

You never criticise any of our players!

It's not criticism. It's reality