Said El Mala is reportedly causing "bewilderment" at 1. FC Köln

Had they sold El Malas, Cologne would have received a transfer fee of €50 million—€45 million base fee plus €5 million in easily achievable bonuses. Never before had the club earned such a fee for a single player, and reports indicate that they also secured a 15% cut of any future transfer. Sporting director Thomas Kessler is said to have accepted the deal.

El Mala was set to sign a contract with Brentford until 2030 and earn €4 million per year. The deadline was Friday, but the player's side, led by negotiator and mother Sabrina El Mala, had already scuppered the transfer beforehand. Sky speculates that El Mala is holding out for an offer from a bigger club. His future is now once again "completely open", it is said. Rumour has it that a move to Bundesliga rivals BVB is once again a possibility.

For both clubs, the transfer would have set new records: El Mala would have eclipsed Anthony Modeste's €29 million move to TJ Quanjian in 2018 as Cologne's most lucrative sale and Dango Ouattara's €42.8 million transfer from Bournemouth to Brentford as the Bees' priciest signing.

El Mala's decision to pull out of the deal has disrupted FC Cologne's planning for the upcoming season, and, according to Express, the club's hierarchy has been "hit hard" by the turn of events. The Bundesliga side now faces a moderate summer overhaul, with several first-team players expected to depart. The substantial funds that the El Mala transfer was set to generate could have allowed more strategic recruitment.

The club is also concerned that El Mala, whose contract runs until 2030, may continue to hesitate and only consider a move in the final days of the window, forcing Cologne to accept a lower fee and leaving them under pressure in the market.

El Mala had attracted interest from more than just the Bees thanks to his outstanding Bundesliga debut season, with Bayern Munich also monitoring him for some time. Brighton & Hove Albion, led by German coach Fabian Hürzeler, emerged as clear favourites for the Krefeld-born playmaker, but the Seagulls were reportedly unwilling to meet FC Cologne's €50 million valuation, with their own limit set at just €35 million.

El Mala was the standout performer for Effzeh in his debut season, helping the club beat the drop. He started all 34 Bundesliga matches, scoring 13 goals and providing five assists. Despite those numbers, he was left out of Germany's World Cup squad.

"He had a great second half of the season and scored well," national team manager Julian Nagelsmann explained at the squad announcement press conference at the end of May, before outlining why he ultimately left El Mala out. "Of course, he also fits in very well with Cologne's style of play. The question was: is he ready for our style of play at a different attacking level? If you look at the heatmap in Cologne, it's close to their own goal."

Even after Lennart Karl's injury shortly before the tournament began, El Mala remained on the outside. Nagelsmann instead drafted Leipzig's Assan Ouedraogo as his replacement.