Lennard Maloney was important in FC Heidenheim’s promotion to the Bundesliga, but the midfielder could reportedly be representing the club for only a few more months.
Maloney has yet to accept Heidenheim’s contract extension, Sky Sports Germany reported Tuesday. Heidenheim offered Maloney a new contract last summer, but the 24-year-old looks set to depart the club as early as January.
Heidenheim would reportedly demand roughly €3-4 million, according to the report.
Maloney moved to Heidenheim from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 and featured in both the 2. Bundesliga and Bundesliga divisions. He’s scored two goals and registered two assists in 80 combined appearances to date, making his European debut in the UEFA Conference League.
Born in Berlin, Maloney debuted for the U.S. men’s national team in October 2023 and has earned two caps since.
Heidenheim sits 14th in the Bundesliga and resumes play on Saturday against reigning league champions Bayer Leverkusen.
He’s a ball possession, pass playing centerback at the international level. It’s one thing to play for your club and many positions; it’s a whole different ball game playing for your country.
He completed 71% of his passes, 29% on long passes. He was only 74% and 40% as a CB for Dortmund II in 3Bundesliga. For comparison Ream last year in EPL 89% and 68%. Richards 84% and 21%. MRob 87% and 49%, CCV 93% and 51%, Trusty last year in EPL 79% and 38%. He has by far the fewest touches and fewest successful dribbles of the CB pool. He’s not a possession anything for his club.
So I checked, and Malonney is making €150,000 – or about $158,000 a year. Heidenheim’s total payroll is just €15.3 million ($16.1 million US), which would put them 25th in MLS…with only Portland, St. Louis, San Jose, and Montreal having smaller salary budgets.
In other words, whether his game is simple or not – and it is, chase across every square inch of field, win the ball, and backpass, rinse and repeat – he also does what he does extraordinarily well, and you’d think there’s a ton of places he could easily make 2-3 times that…including most MLS teams.
I wouldn’t be signing with Heidenheim either. Needless to say, their salary budget is dead-last in the B1. As a pro athlete, you only get so many years to earn…and $158K ain’t exactly earning. Especially in Germany.
I would say there aren’t a lot of teams that want that from their DM. It’s like painting your main bedroom red. Yes, there might be a buyer for that, but not very many. How many teams with payrolls bigger than Heidenheim don’t want any possession and don’t need their DM to connect the lines? Maybe some but not many.
True, but he can also play CB. That would make him potentially a lot more valuable. He’d be a luxury piece but I’d personally want him (albeit as a bench guy and only situational starter unless he’s just lights-out as a CB) because he gives you cover at both the CB position and the 6, and you can also stick him in to plug the midfield and close out a game. I’ve thought for awhile Pochettino may end up coming to the same conclusion…like: in a major tournament, do I really want 4 CB’s on my roster, two of whom will likely never see the field unless there’s an injury, or do I want three pure CB’s and then somebody like Malonney?
Pochettino seems like a guy who likes having a lot of different tools in the toolbox, and Malonney does strike me as a potentially useful utility guy.
Q: I’d be pretty reluctant to bring in a guy to be a backup CB that has played CB, one time in the last 26 months. By March you’d be looking at 2.5 years with one CB appearance. I could see like if you want to call him to play CB for the Gold Cup where he can play a run of matches and get back acclimated, but to throw a guy in in a one week camp just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Maybe he wants a move to show can be more than a win headers and pass backwards DM. Playing a different role at a club could provide him the platform to get into the squad but I don’t see Poch wanting a poor passing DM/CB that also isn’t great dribbling. The 3-4 million price tag also kind of tells you he isn’t going to command a big wage somewhere else either.
If I were Maloney, I’m not sure I would be too confident of going onto bigger and better things with a new club. Heidenheim are punching above their weight in the Bundesliga and he seems to be a good fit in a very specific defensive-midfield role.
Maybe he’s hoping to grow into a more complete midfielder somewhere else?