Ventola praises Malen as an 'extraordinary player'
Former striker Nicola Ventola has expressed strong admiration for Donyell Malen during an episode of the podcast Viva El Futbol. Ventola, who played for Bari, Inter, and Atalanta during his career, highlighted Malen's technical quality and work rate since the attacker's arrival at Roma in January's transfer window. Malen has already scored 11 league goals this season. Ventola praised Malen's movement and positioning, noting his intelligence in reading defensive play and his ability to find space away from the penalty area. He emphasized that Malen consistently makes the correct decisions in his first touch and positioning relative to defenders, even when his back is turned. The former attacker described Malen as a player he "did not know" to this level before watching him play for Roma. Ventola said: "Malen does everything right, because he also has intensity in the right movements: the first touch in plays, but not just in the area when he scores, precisely how he gets into position. He always knows where the defender is, even with his back turned. Many times I made that movement wrong, because maybe I thought he was following me; he instead always makes the right movement and manages, with his posture, to always be in a position to attack, even when far from the area. So he is a player that honestly I did not know like this: he is extraordinary. What surprises me is that you never see him tired. This surprises me, because he is a sprinter: he sprints, sprints and sprints... and you always see him rested, always sharp."
