Brighton have a unique plan to beat their Premier League rivals in the race to sign Said El Mala by making the transfer a family affair.
The Seagulls’ vaunted recruitment model signed the 19-year-old to Germany’s third division last summer – and has since seen him develop into one of the Bundesliga’s biggest breakout stars.
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His form for Cologne, also known as Köln, earned him his first international appearance in November after just over 501 top-flight minutes.
Brighton remain interested in the five-time Germany U21 star, who has also attracted interest from Manchester United and Tottenham.
However, Fabian Hürzeler’s side will be hoping to gain an edge over the Premier League’s ‘big six’ by signing El Mala’s brother Malek.
Last said the transfer of El Mala
The Pitch Prospect’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook told Matterface and Jordan: “It’s really interesting. It was reported in the Times. I tried to look into it a bit this morning and it seems there’s something substantial in it.”
“Said El Mala, who only played for his hometown club in the third German league last season, now he is the star in the Bundesliga.
“He obviously has little chance of making it into the German World Cup squad.”
“He is the perfect profile for Brighton and their data models, so they are not only interested in him, but also in his brother Malek.”
“And I think they are looking to potentially sign both of them in the hope that acquiring Malek would convince Said to join them.
“So, yeah, I mean, on paper it looks like a good signing for Brighton.”
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Brighton’s recruitment model
The south coast club’s transfer strategy has often been described as a blueprint for English clubs in discovering hidden gems.
Nine of the club’s ten most expensive sales have been to Premier League rivals, and all have come within the last four-and-a-half years.
Still, there is little evidence that Brighton’s recent crop will generate a net like Moises Caicedo or Joao Pedro.
In the Seagulls’ 2-0 win over Brentford, only two of the nine players who arrived in Hürzeler’s first summer were in the starting line-up – while his three most expensive signings were all unused substitutes.
Crook added: “I would say one of the problems they’ve had this season is they probably haven’t invested enough in experienced players.”
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“And we saw at the weekend that they brought the experienced heads back into the team. James Milner broke the Premier League appearance record at the age of 40.”
“And they got a good 2-0 win at Brentford.
“So I think they will continue to invest in young players, but I think they realize they need that experience as well.”
Who is Said El Mala?
Brighton’s proposed plan for the teenager mirrors the plan Cologne themselves followed when they brought in El Mala and his older brother Malek from city rivals Viktoria Köln in 2024.
A Transfer ban meant that the siblings were loaned out again to the German third division team last seasonwhere Said particularly flourished.
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The younger El Mala scored 13 goals en route to the season’s third division debut, and Brighton soon made his move.
Cologne, who had already missed out on a record win when Bayer Leverkusen poached an up-and-coming player Florian Wirtz resisted the interest.
This decision seemed inspired as El Mala scored six goals and provided three assists in his first 13 senior Bundesliga games.
However, the 1.80 meter tall winger has only completed 90 minutes twice in the top German league in the ten game weeks since then.
European football expert Andy Brassell told The Pitch Prospect.com exclusively: “It was actually difficult for him to move on.”
“He almost became the focus of a culture war in Cologne because when they started to struggle a little, Lukas Kwasniok, the coach, sometimes didn’t put El Mala in the starting eleven.”
“This deeply upset many fans, both online and in the stadium, and it was difficult for people to understand.”
“Cologne didn’t have many players who you could say are superstars and really upset you. El Mala is that.”
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“They want to sell it for the most value possible.”
“He gets the ball and goes past the players. He’s an incredibly direct winger. He can contribute goals, and he did that.”
“Really good teams like Bayern Munich have struggled to cope with him this season. And he scored at Hoffenheim at the weekend with that speed, that directness, that ability to make decisions quickly and the ability to execute quickly.”
“There has been a lot of speculation in the local media in recent weeks that he will definitely be gone at the end of the year because he feels he is not playing enough, which is really sad.”
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“El Mala has to play. The club needs him to maintain his value because when they sell him, they want to sell him for the maximum value. They can only sell him once.”
“And I think the fans really want to bask in his brilliance until he goes. And they should.”
“He would have been a wildcard for the German World Cup. But since he hasn’t been in the starting line-up as much lately and Kwasniok has always been a bit reluctant to use him, I think it’s becoming less and less likely that he’ll make it into the final squad, even if the squads for the World Cup are expanded, which would be a shame.”
“I would like to see him play for Germany, just as I would like to see him play for Cologne every week until he is eventually sold.”