His 15 goals and two assists in just 20 matches make him one of the best signings of the last Serie A January transfer window: surgical in front of the goal, fast and fully integrated into Gian Piero Gasperini's team. These figures and attributes are what make Donyell Malen Roma's biggest threat to Fiorentina.

Although his attributes would make him a good player on the flanks, his coach decided right away to have him play as a striker, given how surgical he is in front of the goal.

The impact he made last season confirmed that Gasperini was absolutely right. Thanks to his 14 goals in Serie A, Malen was the second-best goalscorer of the 2025/26 season behind Lautaro Martinez, with 17, and tied with Anastasios Douvikas, although the Roma striker did not play in the first half of the season in Italy.

To give you an idea of how influential he has been, no player in the three-point era signed by a club during the January transfer window has scored as many goals as him.

Malen's strength lies in his versatility. He doesn't stick to a single formation. Instead, he can strike in many different ways: devastating counterattacks, breaking into the penalty box and great intuition in the 18-yard box.

His ability to attack half-spaces and time his runs behind the defensive line constantly put pressure on the opposing defenders.

While one can have some misgivings about the player's innate talent, it is undeniable that his attributes work perfectly with the rest of his teammates. Though he is not the most precise forward in Serie A, he is reliable on both feet. Though he is not a master of dribbles, he can still be a constant threat thanks to his speed, and despite being physically imposing, he still manages to be effective in shielding the ball and at headers thanks to good timing in his runs.