Chelsea given boost in pursuit of €50m forward transfer as rival club can't afford him | OneFootball

Chelsea reportedly look to have been handed a boost in their transfer pursuit of FC Koln forward Said El Mala, according to Christian Falk.

Writing in the latest edition of his CF Bayern Insider column, Falk explained that it looks like El Mala is going to be too expensive for Brighton.

The Seagulls had also been keen on signing the talented 19-year-old, but Chelsea might now be in a stronger position, as long as they’re prepared to meet Koln’s €50m asking price.

Chelsea have invested a lot in top young players in recent times, and El Mala looks like he fits into that category after 11 goals and four assists in the Bundesliga this season.

Chelsea ahead of Brighton in Said El Mala transfer pursuit?

Falk has previously reported on both Chelsea and Brighton being interested in El Mala, and now he has a new update in this week’s column.

“Said El Mala’s potential move to the Premier League this summer is not off! There’s another club the FC Köln star is interested in, and this is Chelsea,” Falk said.

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“This is now the club that has their eye on El Mala. Cologne demand €50m [£43.1m]. Brighton would have been prepared to pay €35m, which was not enough for FC Köln. Of course, for El Mala, the move would have been nice; he’s earning about €1.5m at Cologne and Brighton offered €4m.

“But now, there’s a question: Is there a club out there prepared to pay €50m? The hope is that’s Chelsea. They are interested in the player, but if they’ll pay so much for a German talent remains to be seen – we don’t yet know!

“In the meantime, FC Köln would be happy to keep the 19-year-old winger. They’re working right now on a new deal with a supermarket chain that could supply the rest of the salary that El Mala would like to earn (€4m). That’s the Plan B if he isn’t sold. At the moment, it’s up to Chelsea and Said El Mala.”

Said El Mala could strengthen Chelsea’s attack

Chelsea surely need someone like El Mala to come in this summer after the poor form of their current wide-forwards like Alejandro Garnacho, Pedro Neto, and Jamie Gittens.

It’s been a frustrating season at Stamford Bridge and major changes will be required to help get the team challenging for the top four and for major silverware again.

El Mala is still young and inexperienced, but he looks like he has enormous potential and could therefore immediately give the Blues an upgrade on flops like Garnacho and Gittens.