Brentford have now submitted a €45m offer to FC Köln for Said El Mala as they look to beat Brighton and Hove Albion to his signature.
Sky Sports Germany report that Brentford’s offer is comprised of a fixed fee of €40m plus €5m in bonuses. FC Köln are yet to respond to the offer.
Brentford bid
Said El Mala is expected to leave FC Köln this summer following a breakout season in the Bundesliga.
He’s been their star player all season and finished the campaign with 13 goals and five assists in 34 games, despite only playing in 64% of the available minutes.
Brighton have been chasing him since last summer, but Brentford have entered the picture in the last few weeks. Indeed, Sport Witness covered a report stating that El Mala had told teammates he was off to join the Bees this summer.
Sky now report that they’ve stepped ahead of Brighton by offering €45m. That’s €40m up front with €5m in bonuses. FC Köln haven’t responded as yet. But it won’t be enough to convince the German side. They want at least €50m for their star man.
€50m wanted
In fact, they’re determined to break their club record when selling the 19-year-old. That record is currently held by Anthony Modeste’s €35m move to TJ Tianhai in China in 2017.
El Mala, for his part has not reached an agreement with Brentford yet. He wants the clubs to negotiate and agree a deal first.
Brighton, meanwhile, recently made an offer for the rising star. That was worth around was worth around €35m and was immediately rejected by FC Köln. The Seagulls are seemingly reluctant to match the German club’s demands.
That’s put Brentford in the driving seat, and they appear keen to get a deal over the line if they can. With only a few million separating them from FC Köln’s demands, a deal does not seem impossible.