Brighton and Hove Albion’s efforts to sign Said El Mala from FC Cologne have hit a €60m wall, while a court case proves to be a sideshow to the whole affair.
That’s according to BILD Rhineland. The newspaper cover the winger today and Brighton’s efforts to get the player secured in the summer.
SportBILD reported this week that Brighton submitted a written offer to Cologne for the player last week. The Seagulls are offering €25-30m for a summer deal. That also includes a €15m wage packet for El Mala, 10x his current wage packet.
Cologne rejected the offer but are no longer as resistant to a deal as they once were. They’ve been pushing back against interest, from Brighton in particular, since last summer.
BILD report that last week’s bid was actually a third attempt from Brighton. The Seagulls offered €10m last summer, then increased it to €20m. Now they’ve bee rejected for a third time.
Cologne aren’t in a rush given they value El Mala at €40m. They also think that the striker could continue to add value if his development continue at this ‘rapid pace’. That will certainly be the case if he makes the World Cup squad.
Effort to push Brighton to €60m
Said El Mala
COLOGNE, GERMANY – 28 SEPTEMBER, 2025: Said El Mala – The football match of Bundesliga 1.FC Koeln vs VfB Stuttgart at Rhein Energie Stadion.
The belief is that ‘other top clubs’ will submit much higher offers than Brighton this summer. Bayern Munich have already expressed an interest. Cologne want a fee of €50-60m. Whether Brighton would go as high, remains to be seen. They’ve certainly not been put off by rejections thus far.
In the meantime, there’s a side show around the player as a court case over previous commissions takes place. There’s a dispute surrounding his move from Viktoria Köln to FC Köln in the summer of 2024.
Abdenour Amachaibou is demanding a commission from Viktoria, which is believed to be a six-figure sum. That battle is being fought in Cologne’s district court.
Fortunately, it won’t make much difference for a transfer, although Brighton have hit a wall on that front for the time being.