Nuri Sahin sends message to Donyell Malen after his winner against Sturm Graz

Nuri Sahin spoke about what he wants to see from Donyell Malen after the Dutch forward scored the winning goal for Borussia Dortmund against Sturm Graz.

Donyell Malen has endured a frustrating season so far, finding himself in and out of the team. Despite an excellent performance against Real Madrid last month, highlights have been few and far in between for the 25 year old. To add to that, speculation about his future continues to persist with reports claiming that he wants to leave Borussia Dortmund.

But Malen showed a timely reminder of his quality on Tuesday as he came off the bench and made the decisive impact for Borussia Dortmund, scoring the winning goal against Sturm Graz. With the Black and Yellows struggling to find the breakthrough, the Dutchman won the ball high up the pitch before finishing the move with a composed finish into the corner in the 86th minute.

Nuri Sahin has his say on Donyell Malen's form

After the game, Nuri Sahin commented on Malen's recent struggles and what he wants to see from the former PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal forward. "We had a very, very good conversation a few days ago. I wasn't happy with his performance against Wolfsburg and I made that clear to him. Donny is a very important player for us, and he naturally defines himself by scoring goals and providing assists. I told him that I expect even more from him."

"He scored the goal, very, very important, but I thought in the 94th minute, when he cleared the ball in his own box, that's the Donny I want to see. He showed us [on Tuesday] that that's what he wants too."

While his long-term future remains uncertain, Malen will hope to make his return to the Borussia Dortmund starting XI on Saturday when they take on Mainz 05.