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Deal Agreed
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Brentford are set to complete their first major signing of the summer period, if reports in Germany are to be believed. According to newspaper BILD, the Premier League side have agreed terms to sign FC Köln winger Said El Mala, which is expected to be completed before Friday, when the deadline for the agreement expires. The publication states that Brentford are prepared to pay an upfront fee of €45 million, plus additional add-ons of €5m and a 15% sell-on clause. Should El Mala complete a €45m move to the English side, he’ll become Brentford’s most expensive signing ever, surpassing the €42.8m the club paid for Dango Ouattara last season. The fee will also far exceed the highest fee FC Köln had previously received for a player, which is currently Anthony Modeste’s €29m move to China in 2018.
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S. El Mala |
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| Left Winger | ||||||||||
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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. And that figure will surely continue to rise if El Mala makes the move to Brentford and performs as well in the Premier League as he has done in the Bundesliga.
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