€45m bid 

Said El Mala rejects Brentford move - Is the German talent too good for the Bees?

©IMAGO

Brentford have been rejected by Said El Mala after the English Premier League club submitted a club record transfer for the FC Köln winger. According to newspaper BILD, the Premier League side had agreed a €50m package with the Bundesliga outfit; an upfront fee of €45 million, plus additional add-ons of €5m and a 15% sell-on clause. That fee would have been club record of Brentford, surpassing the €42.8m the club paid for Dango Ouattara last season. The fee would also have been the highest fee FC Köln had ever received, which is currently Anthony Modeste’s €29m move to China in 2018. But according to various reports, El Mala and his representative have informed Brentford that he has no intention of joining the London club as he sets his sights on a more prestigious club.

Rumour
Said El Mala S. El Mala 1.FC Köln
Left Winger
1.FC Köln 1.FC Köln

 

50 %

Brentford FC Brentford
Bundesliga Premier League

How good is Said El Mala?

El Mala has been nothing short of a revelation in the Bundesliga over the course of the last 12 months, having broken into FC Köln’s first team and quickly become one of Europe’s most promising wingers. Over the course of 34 league games for the recently-promoted club, El Mala bagged an impressive 13 goals and five assists primarily from the left wing. Those 18 goal contributions were not only the best return at FC Köln, but also placed El Mala fourth among all U21 players across Europe’s top five leagues – only Nico Paz (19), Yan Diomande (19), and Lamine Yamal (28) managed more in their respective league campaigns.

This remarkable return in front of goal has, unsurprisingly, led to El Mala’s market value skyrocketing in the last 12 months. Ahead of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season, the winger’s market value stood at just €3m but has since increased on three occasions in the last 12 months to where it now stands at €45m. Only four players in the German top-flight have gained more market value than El Mala over the course of the last season, while the 19-year-old talent ranks 19th across the entire world for biggest market value gains over the course of the last 12 months.

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