Move to England? Kessler responds firmly to El Mala rumours

Move to England? Kessler responds firmly to El Mala rumours

The sporting future of Said El Mala is currently the dominant topic at Geißbockheim. As reported by the 'Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger', the 19-year-old top talent is currently caught between an intense relegation battle and far-reaching transfer rumors from the Premier League. On the pitch, El Mala is indispensable for Köln: with ten goals and four assists, he is the squad’s most important attacking player, but he is currently dealing with an ankle injury suffered in the match against Frankfurt. His involvement in the crucial basement battle against Werder Bremen remains uncertain.

At the same time as the fight for survival on the pitch, the transfer carousel is spinning faster and faster. Brighton & Hove Albion in particular, with coach Fabian Hürzeler, are showing strong interest and have been trying for weeks to secure a meeting for negotiations. So far, however, FC have consistently blocked any approach. According to the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, the club is hoping for a transfer fee significantly above the €35 million plus bonuses currently being discussed. The negotiations are being further complicated by the history between Brighton owner Tony Bloom and FC supervisory board chairman Lionel Souque. Souque recalled an earlier meeting with Bloom with amusement: “I told him: Nice to talk, but I’m a fruit and vegetable seller, and you’re apparently a poker player — negotiations between us won’t work. He didn’t find that so funny.”

The club also rejected speculation about the influence of “super agent” Ali Barat and a possible club mandate from FC to place the player on the English market. Thomas Kessler, FC’s managing director for sport, commented to the newspaper and described the situation as follows:

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“We are in very reliable and close contact with Said and his family. As things stand, we have no offer from another club that we would need to seriously consider. Nor has there been any request from the player’s side so far to enter into talks with other clubs. The initiative lies with 1. FC Köln — Said is under contract with us until 2030.”

The managing director also sees the player’s focus as clearly set: “We have been supporting Said very closely since the start of the season. He has made it unmistakably clear that his full focus is currently on his development at FC and the run-in to the end of the season. He has clear goals with the club. In this, he also has the full backing and support of his family.” Kessler dismissed speculation about a possible minimum acceptable fee: “No, we have not defined one.” FC are also deliberately vague about the timeline in the El Mala case: “There is no specific date or time frame. What is of course clear is that we will address the issue in due course.”

Despite the unrest in the background, El Mala has recently impressed on the pitch. Kessler specifically praised his performance in Frankfurt: “Said played a strong game. He was extremely committed, initiated many dangerous moves and threw himself fully into it. René Wagner relieved some of the burden on him, so he did not have to do the dirty work all the time — but he was still enormously hardworking. Particularly outstanding was the perfectly timed pass to Jakub Kaminski.” Whether he can bring that form against Bremen will be decided at short notice.

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