After El-Mala blow, BVB lines up swift transfer! | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund have definitively given up on the transfer of Said El Mala. After weeks of negotiations with 1. FC Köln, BVB pulled the plug on Friday. Managing director Carsten Cramer has now explained the background and at the same time announced that an alternative could be signed in the coming days.

“We submitted what we believe was a very attractive, bold offer in Cologne,” Cramer explained on Sky. However, Köln apparently considered the offer insufficient.

Dortmund are said to have offered a base fee of less than €50 million. With realistic bonus payments, the total package could have risen to more than €55 million. However, Köln reportedly wanted the guaranteed fee alone to exceed the €50 million mark.

That was where BVB drew the line.

BVB did not want to become “megalomaniacal”

“We are bold, but in the end we have to keep our feet on the ground,” Cramer made clear. Dortmund had shown with their offer how ambitious the club is, but must not become “overconfident or even megalomaniacal.”

That is why the joint decision was made to withdraw from the transfer poker. Cramer also ruled out making another move for El Mala in this transfer window.

That means attention in Dortmund is already turning to Plan B.

“We would have liked to bring Said El Mala to BVB. I think he would have been up for it too,” Cramer said. But now “another plan” is in play, which BVB would like to carry out in the next few days if possible.

Konstantelias the first alternative?

Photo: IMAGO

Cramer did not want to name names. However, the managing director hinted that those in charge are prepared: “I think we’ve got something good up our sleeve.”

According to consistent media reports, Giannis Konstantelias of PAOK Thessaloniki is considered one of the hottest alternatives. The 23-year-old Greek is said to rank very high on a Dortmund shortlist featuring several candidates.

A fee of around €25 million is being discussed for Konstantelias. That would make him significantly cheaper than El Mala.

After the final withdrawal from the poker with Köln, things could now move quickly on the alternative solution. In any case, Cramer’s comments suggest that Dortmund have already done concrete groundwork and do not want to wait long for the next transfer.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.