Especially nowadays, deals can occur for any number of reasons. Even so, Aston Villa looking to loan out Donyell Malen is something that does not align with where the club is at. It also would not stem from a need to see the player's potential or a desire to increase their value in the market.
A post on X by Kartalın Umudu that received a certain level of backlash shared that Beşiktaş approached Villa for the Netherlands international and that a number of other clubs were also interested in temporarily luring the forward away from B6.
In general, there are two reasons for a club to loan a player out. Either they would like to see someone gain some valuable experience and learn. The hope there is that further development will allow them to soon be part of the fold as a regular first-team starter.
As was the case for Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, the parent club could also be openly admitting that they will be looking to move on from the player and are simply hoping to give a little more time to find a suitable option to then move on from the player at a later date.
Neither of those situations applies to Malen in this instance.
He, as well as many Villa supporters, would, of course, love to see him be given more minutes. There isn't the need for him to go elsewhere to test and prove himself, however. It is known what the Dutchman is capable of and how he fits into the system. Certainly, the club is not looking to move on from him.
Unless it is for a long-term effort to reduce wages, then Villa plan on keeping Malen in B6 for a long time to come. Some may point to SCR, but if the intent was to move on from Malen during the start of the upcoming season, it likely would have already been done, and the club would have then opted to find a way to keep the sale of the Aston Villa Women's team in the back pocket for further down the road.
Malen will have a role for Villa during the 2025-2026 campaign. To what will be the delight of many supporters, it will also be an increased one compared to this past season.
Especially without the returns of either Asensio or Rashford, Malen is versatile enough that more minutes will be available, and he'll see the pitch more often. Villa could explore the loan option for differing reasons throughout the club, just not for Malen.