Roma’s season has acquired a small family thread beyond the first team, with Donyell Malen welcoming his sister-in-law Silver Van Hetten to the club’s women’s Primavera squad.
The 17-year-old forward has joined the side coached by Di Martino and made her first appearance in the opening round of the women’s Primavera campaign against Fiorentina. Roma won the match, with Van Hetten entering midway through the second half.
Quick facts
- Silver Van Hetten, 17, has signed for Roma Women’s Primavera team.
- She is the sister of Malen’s wife, Delisha, rather than his biological sister.
- Van Hetten is a forward who previously played for Telstar in the Netherlands.
- She also developed in the AFC IJburg youth system.
- Her Roma debut came in the Primavera win over Fiorentina.
Malen marked the move on Instagram, writing that he was happy to announce his “sister” had become part of Roma and that he was proud of her. The wording reflected a bond that has long gone beyond formal family labels.
The pair have known each other since Van Hetten was a child, when Malen had already become a protective older-brother figure in the family. An old photograph of the two together, taken around a decade ago, has underlined the closeness of that relationship.
Supporters quickly embraced the news, joking that the Malen family’s presence in Rome was growing and that one Malen at the club was no longer enough. It is an affectionate subplot in a season in which the Dutch forward has become a central figure for the Giallorossi.
Van Hetten’s arrival also reflects how settled Malen’s family has become in the capital. He and Delisha first met in London in 2015, when he was in Arsenal’s academy and she was studying with an interest in fashion.
Their relationship continued through his moves between the Netherlands, Germany, England and Italy. Roma has now become home for a wider family circle, including Van Hetten as she begins her own football path in yellow and red.
The family have already come through a difficult period together after the premature birth of Malen and Delisha’s son a couple of years ago. Delisha later said that both mother and child had faced serious danger, adding that she was grateful they were now together and that her husband had been an exceptional support.
Malen remains in Rome during the international break after withdrawing from national-team duty with a knee issue. The problem is not regarded as particularly serious, leaving him able to share in another important first step for the family: Van Hetten’s debut for Roma.
