Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen could be close to January exit

Borussia Dortmund’s pursuit of a reunion with Jadon Sancho is set to likely have reverberations throughout the squad, with Donyell Malen having been noted as a possible departure in the coming weeks of the winter transfer window. Malen, who came in as Sancho’s replacement, has had a very mixed spell in black and yellow, with the Dutch international struggling to fill the boots of his now likely incoming predecessor.  

Malen's job of filling Sancho's boots, ironically enough, is one of the main reasons he's had such a hard time in Germany. Prior to his move to Dortmund, Malen predominantly played in a strike partnership up front for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie. 

Since joining Dortmund however, the focus has been on deploying Malen out wide, which had been one of the Dutchman's main gripes. Before the first half of the season came to conclusion, there was already a plethora of speculation about Malen's future after he changed agents and deleted all of his Dortmund-related posts on instagram without explanation, hence any exit, in reality, has quite possibly been on the cards even before the Sancho transfer really picked up any steam.

The departure of Malen makes sense from a financial and squad planning standpoint as, with the inclusion of Sancho and Julien Duranville returning from injury, Dortmund will have adequate wing depth, and the funds could either be used to bring in much needed full back depth or to secure Sancho on a permament basis should he perform up to what the club expects from him during his time on loan. 

In a nutshell, its not hard to imagine that Malen's future will very much depend on the framework of the deal for Sancho, and what other plans the club may have on the transfer market. At the end of the day, a new start for all parties involved could be just what is needed for both player and club to bounce back from the current downturn in form that they are suffering from.