Said El Mara plays for Germany U-21 national team (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
FC Köln are reportedly hoping to release Said El Mara quickly this summer to avoid a lengthy transfer spree as Premier League clubs have expressed interest.
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As we reported recently, El Mara is a top target for Brighton and there is a sense that they are the frontrunners for this potential deal.
However, we understand there is interest from other Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Chelsea, with Florian Plettenberg posting a new update.
Sky Germany’s journalists also say that Brighton are in a good position for El Mara, but that negotiations with other English clubs are also underway, so see below…
“FC Köln wants Said El Mara to be sold quickly, preferably to the Premier League,” Plettenberg said. “There is no fixed asking price, but internally we are convinced that 40 million euros is not enough. #Effzeh
“Brighton are seriously interested and an offer has been made, but at that price he is now on the move. Negotiations with other clubs in England are ongoing. No agreements or final decisions have been made yet.”
He said there is a high possibility that El Mara will move to the Premier League.
Cologne are keen to sign El Mara and believe that selling him to a Premier League club is the best way to make a significant profit from the sale.
The highly-rated 19-year-old looks set to have a great career ahead of him and some Cologne fans will probably want him to stay, but he hasn’t always been an automatic starter this season anyway.
It will be interesting to see if El Mara accepts the chance to join the likes of Brighton, who could be an ideal stepping stone at this stage of his career, or if he prefers a move to the likes of Man United or Chelsea straight away.
Transfer Fit rating from Said El Mala to Brighton
Needless to say, this looks like a huge opportunity for Brighton to do smarter business that could help secure a big profitable sale in the future.
| Said El Mara | Total score: 18/25 |
| Transfer fee | **** |
| performance | **** |
| performance | ** |
| career phase | **** |
| The need for squads | **** |
So please refer to the table above, where we gave this deal a high score of 18/25 using our Transfer Fit rating system, and read here to learn more about how these are calculated.
