Xavi's Mission: Transforming Donyell Malen for Oranje

The numbers say Donyell Malen should be unstoppable. Italy sees it every weekend. The Netherlands are still waiting.

For Xavi, that wait has gone on long enough.

The national team coach has made it a personal mission to crack the code of Malen’s split identity: ruthless finisher for AS Roma, muted presence for the Oranje. As the striker prepares for a fresh start under the new regime, Xavi is treating him not as a luxury option, but as a central project.

“We are trying to give him confidence. He wants to show his potential,” Xavi told NOS. “Donyell is important to me and he must be important for the team. He is doing so well in Italy. We must take advantage of that. Of course, he can also play on the right, but for me, he is a striker.”

That last line is crucial. For years, the debate around Malen has been about where to use him. Xavi has given his answer.

A Serie A predator, a national team riddle

Right now, there is no bigger tactical riddle around the Dutch squad than Malen. In Rome, he is a cold-eyed finisher. In orange, he has too often looked like a supporting act.

Gian Piero Gasperini changed that narrative at club level in January. Spotting an opportunity that others missed, the Roma coach moved for Malen as a bargain signing, convinced that Aston Villa – and before that Borussia Dortmund – had never quite understood him.

Gasperini pushed him straight into the middle, not out wide, and the transformation has been dramatic. He had already warned that the former PSV forward is “deadly in front of goal” when played through the centre. The evidence in 2026 has backed him up.

Malen has scored 22 goals in the calendar year, a figure that puts him ahead of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé across Europe’s top leagues. That is not a hot streak; that is elite company. Week after week, he has repaid Gasperini’s faith with decisive, match-winning performances and a level of consistency that never quite materialised in Dortmund or Birmingham.

In Italy, he is treated like a star. In the Netherlands, he is still treated like a question.

Years of doubt, rotation and missed chances

That uncertainty has followed Malen through almost every chapter of his international career.

Frank de Boer leaned on Wout Weghorst at Euro 2021, preferring the target man profile and leaving Malen on the fringes of the starting picture. Louis van Gaal went further, leaving him out of the 2022 World Cup squad altogether. Under Ronald Koeman, he never escaped the shuffle: sometimes starting, sometimes benched, often pushed to the flank instead of being trusted as the main striker.

Last summer’s tournament in the United States was supposed to be the turning point. Softer opposition on paper – Algeria, Uzbekistan, Japan – offered the perfect platform for a breakout. The goals never came. The doubts did.

Hovering over all of it was the constant question of Memphis Depay’s return. Every training session, every selection, every missed chance seemed to be framed by Memphis’ shadow. When Brian Brobbey eventually took his place in the side, Malen’s Oranje story felt like it was slipping into the same old pattern: promise, patience, then another name on the team sheet.

Now the landscape has shifted. Brobbey is sidelined. Xavi has brought in a high-tempo, front-foot attacking style that demands a ruthless No 9. For once, the role Malen plays for his club and the role his country needs appear to be the same.

The excuses are running out. That might be exactly what he needs.

Greece as the starting line

At 27, Malen is no longer the young prospect waiting for his moment. He is arriving in camp as one of Europe’s most in-form centre-forwards, and he is set to make his debut under Xavi when the Netherlands face Greece.

This is not a gentle introduction. It is a test of whether the Roma version of Malen can finally walk out in an Oranje shirt.

Xavi has liked what he has seen so far.

“He’s training really well and is in excellent shape. He's shown he's perfectly at ease. He's truly a player with many qualities that strengthen our team, and I can't wait to see him on the pitch,” the coach said.

The message is clear: Malen will not be parked on the wing, he will not be treated as a spare part, and his club form will not be ignored. Xavi wants the same ruthless finisher who has outscored Kane and Mbappé this year, not a cautious, second-guessing version of the player.

Now it comes down to Malen. Roma has already seen the striker he can be. Greece will tell the Netherlands whether that player has finally come home.