Donyell Malen was born on 19 January 1999 in Wieringen, Netherlands. He started his football journey in Ajax's youth academy in 2007 before joining Arsenal's academy in 2015, drawn by his admiration for Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
In August 2017 PSV Eindhoven signed him, and over four seasons he developed rapidly, winning the Bronze Bull as best Eerste Divisie talent in 2017-18, helping PSV win the 2017-18 Eredivisie title and scoring 19 league goals with 10 assists in the 2020-21 season.
In July 2021 Borussia Dortmund signed him on a five-year contract. He scored 13 Bundesliga goals in 2023-24, his career best, and featured as a substitute in Dortmund's 2024 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid. In January 2025 he joined Aston Villa for around £21 million, but in January 2026 he was loaned to Roma with an obligation to buy worth €25 million, scoring on his Serie A debut.
For the Netherlands, Malen has earned around 50 caps with 13 goals, featuring at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 — including a brace against Romania in the latter's round of 16.
A 1.78 m forward who can play through the middle or on either flank, Malen combines acceleration, dribbling and goal-scoring instinct, and was once compared to Alexis Sánchez by his Ajax youth coaches — exactly the kind of multi-position attacker Roma needed to add in mid-season.