Said El Mala is one of the most exciting discoveries of this Bundesliga season – now the shooting star has spoken out for the first time about the rumors surrounding a possible move to FC Bayern. The 19-year-old, who has matured into an international player in Cologne, is being courted all over Europe: Bayern, Dortmund, Manchester City, PSG, Chelsea – the list is a who’s who of world soccer.
Despite the many talks in the background, El Mala remains on course for the time being. „It’s normal that when you have several scorers as a young player in the Bundesliga, clubs come calling,“ said the attacking player on Wednesday. „I’m taking that on board. It’s a nice confirmation of my performance. I’m fully focused on FC.“
He clearly ruled out a winter departure – but the youngster has big long-term goals: „You always have goals. Everyone wants to play in the Champions League and everyone wants to play for the top club and achieve the best they can.“
Bayern is looking for exactly this type of player – and has registered its interest
FC Bayern are looking for a viable backup on the left flank behind Luis Diaz. El Mala fits this profile perfectly: dynamic, a strong dribbler, already ready for the Bundesliga – and with enormous development potential.
As reported by Sky, Munich have already registered their interest in the player and El Mala would be one of the preferred candidates for the new squad structure that Max Eberl and Christoph Freund are pursuing on the wing.
And yet: a transfer would be complicated – and expensive. El Mala only signed a new five-year contract in July. Without a release clause, 1. FC Köln is in an almost ideal negotiating position.
According to Sky, FC are asking for at least 35 million euros. If El Mala continues his impressive trend, the price could even rise to as much as 50 million euros. For a player who has only recently blossomed in professional soccer, that would be an XXL price tag.
For the record champions, the crucial question is therefore: do they invest double figures in a backup – or do they go for a cheaper talent like Malick Fofana, who is considered plan B internally?