The top scorer in Europe’s major leagues in 2026 is not Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappe, not Erling Haaland or Lamine Yamal. That honour belongs to Donyell Malen. A revelation at Roma, he makes his return to England against Manchester United on Tuesday night.
Malen was a popular figure at Aston Villa but even his biggest admirers might not have anticipated all this. Fourteen goals in 18 Serie A games on loan last season certainly suggested that Roma could get the best from him but Malen has gone to another level. He began with a hat-trick against Fiorentina and now has eight goals in eight Serie A games.
There was a suspension for a red card in there too but it hardly stopped him. He goes to Old Trafford on the back of goals against Cagliari and Udinese in the past week. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player In 2026, Malen has scored 18 goals from open play, two more than nearest rival Lamine Yamal and four more than anyone else in the big leagues.
In the Champions League, Malen bagged a brace against Real Madrid last month. The obvious question is how and why this is happening. Now 27, Malen felt like a known quantity in European football.
It is over a decade ago that he was a youngster at Arsenal. Speaking to him last year about those early days, he explained: "I was this skinny [kid]." He was honest enough to admit that it all came too soon for him. "I was only 16 when I trained with the first team.
Maybe I was not really 100 per cent ready. Looking back, I learnt a lot in those two and a half years there. But I made my steps in a different way." At PSV, he was prolific.
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