Fuss over El Mala! Offer from top club appears to unsettle FC

SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 v 1. FC Köln - Pre-Season Friendly

Borussia Dortmund have apparently made a concrete move to secure the services of attacking player Said El Mala.

Sky report that Borussia Dortmund made an offer for El Mala in Cologne last week. It went no further than that. The key details: a base fee of 26 million euros, plus eight million euros in easily achievable bonuses and a further eight million euros in more difficult-to-achieve bonus payments. The total package could therefore have been worth between 34 and 42 million euros.

According to Sky, Dortmund's offer only caused irritation at FC, and the side who finished 14th in last season's Bundesliga are said to have rejected it immediately. Hardly surprising given the recent history in the El Mala case.

FC had already approved an offer worth around 50 million euros from Brentford for the 19-year-old, but shortly afterwards El Mala himself turned down the English club. Since then, one thing has been clear from FC's side: any interested club must pay a transfer fee at least in the region of the 50 million euros offered by Brentford if they want to sign the Germany Under-21 international.

Whether El Mala stays in Cologne for another season or still moves this summer remains open. According to Sky , the dribbler would in principle be open to a move to Borussia Dortmund, but Dortmund would have to improve their offer significantly. The runners-up are known to need a replacement in attack for Karim Adeyemi, who has departed for Barcelona, and El Mala would be close to an ideal fit.