Donyell Malen on fire but Arsenal have no buy-back clause as £22.5m interest heats up

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As Arsenal defeated Dundalk in the Europa League yesterday, a player the club once had in their academy was continuing an impressive start to his own season. 

PSV Eindhoven found themselves 1-0 down against Omonia Nicosia after former Wigan and Swansea midfielder Jordi Gomez’s incredible long-range strike. 

But the club’s saviour was Donyell Malen, with the Dutch international scoring both goals, including a 90th-minute winner, to secure the win.

It takes Malen’s total for the season to seven goals in 10 games and there is a clear reason why he is being linked with a host of clubs across Europe. 

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are considering Malen as an alternative to first-choice option Memphis Depay in January. 

Undoubtedly, Malen is on the path to a big move elsewhere, which makes Arsenal’s failure to keep him at the club in 2017 all the more frustrating. 

Malen decided he wanted to play regular football so forced a move away from North London that summer, joining PSV for a reported (The Sun) £540,000. 

Now, per a report from Soccer News, Malen is valued at approximately £22.5 million, a fee that can only be growing by the day given Malen’s form. 

Arsenal are actually linked with a move to bring the player back in that aforementioned report however, they will not have first dibs. 

Despite his obvious talent Arsenal did not add a buy-back option or option of first refusal in his deal when Malen went to PSV, according to a report from Football.London. 

That means Arsenal have no advantage in the transfer market when it comes to Malen.

There also appears to be no reports of a sell-on clause, meaning if Arsenal do not bring Malen back, they will also not receive a percentage of any sale if he does end up elsewhere. 

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 31-years-old and Alexandre Lacazette turning 30 next summer, Arsenal need to start thinking about long-term striker options to partner Eddie Nketiah in the future. 

Malen, could be a perfect option. However, the lack of foresight in his sale, regarding any sort of clause, means Arsenal will have no headstart or receive no funds should they miss out in any pursuit.