Köln boss reveals Brighton tried luring El Mala to England last summer

The Seagulls attempted to pinch the Köln wonderkid before the 2025-26 season began.

An interesting revelation has emerged that Brighton & Hove Albion were determined to sign Said El Mala from 1.FC Köln last summer.

Brighton’s owner Tony Bloom even personally called Köln’s supervisory board chairman, Lionel Souque, to discuss the move. 

In an episode of the OMR Podcast, the CEO of the REWE Group talks about the attempted purchase by the Premier League side.

“Through a friend at Carnival, the owner of the club [Brighton] had my mobile number, called me and tried to see if he had a chance through me.”

However, Souque clarified that he has little influence on the day-to-day operations at the newly promoted Bundesliga side.

An offer reported to be around €15million had already been rejected by the sporting management, led by Thomas Kessler.

It’s proved to be a good bit of business for Effzeh since, with El Mala’s value soaring given his fine performances this season.