After BVB move: Köln take big gamble on El Mala | OneFootball

The battle over Said El Mala is heating up more and more. After BVB was recently turned down by 1. FC Köln, Effzeh now apparently firmly plans to keep the 19-year-old – and is taking a special risk in doing so.

Following Dortmund’s failed approach, the situation surrounding Köln’s top talent has shifted noticeably. As BILD reports, the complicated transfer saga has become somewhat easier for Köln in recent days.

The club has a clear idea of El Mala’s value and has also communicated it to interested parties. Anyone not coming close to the pain threshold of 50 million euros need not bother trying.

Köln is planning fully with El Mala

By now, him staying is as likely as it has rarely been before this summer. Clear arguments from the club are said to have been decisive. El Mala was reportedly shown how valuable a trusting environment and closeness to family can be.

Photo: Christof Koepsel/Getty Images

In the cathedral city, squad planning has long been geared toward him staying. According to BILD, sporting director Thomas Kessler is already building a team fully tailored to El Mala. With fast attacking football, the club wants to highlight his strengths in a targeted way. The transfers of Reigan Heskey and Gideon Mensah were also made with this in mind.

That, however, is exactly where the risk lies: if El Mala does still leave, the plans on the Rhine could be thrown into doubt. So from a sporting perspective, the club is putting a lot on a player whose future has not yet been definitively settled.

At the moment, however, Dortmund seem to be one of only very few realistic options. But BVB will have to improve its offer drastically if it wants to have any chance in the end. The latest bid was 26+8 million euros, but that is not enough when the asking price is 50 million euros as a total package.

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