After watching Donyell Malen score 14 goals in just 18 appearances, we ran out of superlatives to describe the Dutchman’s impact on Roma’s Champions League chase. While it may be reductive to say Malen single-handedly reversed Roma’s fortunes, the correlation is hard to ignore. Seldom have we seen a single player have such a dramatic effect on a club’s performance, but Malen’s movement and finishing were the perfect foil for Gian Piero Gasperini’s attack.
Malen also had the good fortune of remaining
healthy, playing 1,478 minutes across those 18 appearances, playing 91% of all possible minutes across that stretch. The 27-year-old striker is just entering his physical prime and has been nearly injury-free throughout his career. However, with no other center-forwards on the roster beyond 19-year-old Robinio Vaz, Roma needs a viable Plan B to spell Malen occasionally.
According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, the Giallorossi may have found the perfect candidate in Club Brugge forward Nicolò Tresoldi. A 22-year-old Cagliari-born German/Italian hybrid, Tresoldi began his career in the Hanover youth setup but broke through in a major way this past season. In his first taste of top-flight football, Tresoldi scored 23 goals and provided nine assists in 58 appearances (all comps) for Brugge, priming him for another leap in competition.
Speculation holds that Roma will have to sell Artem Dovbyk before making an official inquiry into Tresoldi, who is valued at €25 million. Considering that, the club will probably have to shift Tresoldi into the maybe column on their transfer ledger, but he’s certainly an intriguing option behind Malen.
