Said El Mala has reportedly rejected a move to Newcastle in favour of joining Brighton, despite there not being an agreement in place for him to head to the Amex Stadium this summer.
The winger remains at the heart of plenty of transfer speculation, and that is expected to remain the case over the coming months, with the saga showing no signs of concluding as it stands.
Brighton have been keen to sign the FC Koln youngster since before he even made his debut for the Bundesliga side, making one of several concrete approaches in the January transfer window, which was rejected.
The Seagulls have remained in close communication with both El Mala and Koln since those negotiations, but an agreement over a summer switch has still not been reached.
According to BILD, via Bulinews, Brighton have ‘repeatedly requested’ a meeting with FC Koln sporting director Tim Steidten to try and accelerate negotiations.
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However, because their current offer of £30.5million, plus add-ons, falls short of Koln’s asking price, which is said to be in the region of £43m, those talks have not taken place.
Steidten and fellow sporting director Thomas Kessler are therefore keeping their side’s options open and remain in contact with a number of other clubs. Chelsea are among those monitoring his situation closely, but the Blues are yet to table an offer.
Newcastle also approached the 19-year-old’s camp to discuss the conditions of a deal, but El Mala’s parents, who are currently acting as his representatives, are said to have made it clear that they are leaning towards a move to Brighton.
Sabrina, El Mala’s mother, is willing to accept the Seagulls’ latest offer, but only once a club-to-club agreement is in place. She is also not putting either party under any pressure to strike a deal.
Fulham, Everton and Brentford remain in the race to sign the teenager as well, with all roads leading to a bidding war unless Brighton increase their offer sooner rather than later.