Liverpool
Premier League • England
German journalist tells Liverpool not to waste €50m on Bundesliga winger; he has doubts
1. FC Koln winger Said El Mala, who has been linked with Liverpool
A top German journalist has warned Liverpool against splashing the cash to bring a Bundesliga winger to Anfield, with the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), having identified him as a potential alternative to Yan Diomande.
Liverpool had long identified Diomande as a replacement for Mohamed Salah, who has already left Anfield this summer.
However, the RB Leipzig winger prefers a move to Paris Saint-Germain instead.
Liverpool have swiftly moved on to focus on PSG winger Bradley Barcola, but the Premier League club have not put all their eggs in one basket.
The German media reported last week that Liverpool are keeping tabs on Said El Mala of Cologne.
CaughtOffSide, too, has reported that the Reds are monitoring the 19-year-old Germany Under-21 international winger.
El Mala, who is under contract at Cologne until the summer of 2030, scored 13 goals and gave five assists in 36 matches in all competitions last season.
A left-winger by trade, the teenager played as a centre-forward and as a right-winger for his club last season, too.
However, Bild journalist Christian Falk has reported that El Mala is not ready to make the step-up to Liverpool just yet.
Falk wrote on his website, CFBayernInsider: “There is always Premier League interest in Said El Mala.
“I think Liverpool is a step too high for this player at this stage in his development.
“He has quality, but this isn’t so big that you can compare him at the moment with Yan Diomande.
“I think he will make the step to the Premier League – a league he’s a big fan of – but if it’s Liverpool, I have doubts.”
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Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle interested in Said El Mala
On May 1, Falk reported Chelsea’s desire to sign El Mala, claiming that Cologne want €50million (£43m, $57.2m) for him.
Falk wrote on his website: “Said El Mala’s potential move to the Premier League this summer is not off!
“There’s another club the FC Köln star is interested in, and this is Chelsea.
“This is now the club that has their eye on El Mala.
“Cologne demand €50m [£43.1m]. Brighton would have been prepared to pay €35m, which was not enough for FC Köln.
“Of course, for El Mala, the move would have been nice; he’s earning about €1.5m at Cologne and Brighton offered €4m.
“But now, there’s a question: Is there a club out there prepared to pay €50m?
“The hope is that’s Chelsea.
“They are interested in the player, but if they’ll pay so much for a German talent remains to be seen – we don’t yet know!
“In the meantime, FC Köln would be happy to keep the 19-year-old winger.
“They’re working right now on a new deal with a supermarket chain that could supply the rest of the salary that El Mala would like to earn (€4m).
“That’s the Plan B if he isn’t sold.
“At the moment, it’s up to Chelsea and Said El Mala.”
TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, reported on June 17 that Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United are interested in El Mala.
Sources have told us that the teenager is more than open to leaving the Bundesliga for a club in the Premier League.
Tottenham scouted the German youngster on a regular basis through the 2025/26 campaign and are already in talks with his agents.
We understand that Forest and Newcastle, too, are in talks, but Brentford have ended their pursuit.