After the departures of Brandt and Adeyemi, the Croatian coach insists on reinforcements. After bringing in Karetsas, it's Said El Mala's turn, the 19-year-old jewel from Cologne, for whom Dortmund is ready to break their own transfer record.
The departures of Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi have left a noticeable void in Borussia Dortmund's attacking ranks. Croatian coach Niko Kovač makes no secret of the urgent need for replacements, and the club's management, led by sporting director Ole Book, is ready to dig deep into their pockets to fulfill his wishes. In their sights is 19-year-old Cologne jewel Said El Mala, for whom a bid is being prepared that could become the largest in the club's history.
The first swallow in Kovač's attacking overhaul has already landed. A week ago, Borussia brought in 18-year-old Greek midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas from Genk for €30 million. The youngster, remembered by Croatian fans for the spring clashes with Dinamo in the Conference League, debuted in impressive fashion. In Sunday's 3-2 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Cup in London, he scored a stunning goal and immediately showed why he was brought in. Interestingly, Karetsas missed the return leg against Dinamo (3-3) due to injury, but that didn't dampen Borussia's interest in his services.
However, while Karetsas is already part of the squad, negotiations over El Mala have become complicated. A month ago, Borussia sent Cologne an initial offer of €30 million plus bonuses, only to receive a cold shower in the form of a €50 million release clause demand. Dortmund tried to raise their offer to €45 million with bonuses, but no response came from Cologne.
Now, according to Cologne's "Express," a decisive move is coming. The new and final offer from Borussia Dortmund amounts to a whopping €55 million, of which €48 million is a fixed fee and the remaining €7 million is earmarked through bonuses. If the transfer goes through, El Mala would sign a five-year contract worth €5 million per season.
This amount would surpass the club's current record. Indeed, the most Borussia has ever paid for a player was €35 million for Ousmane Dembélé from Rennes. Following him are Sébastien Haller from Ajax (€31 million), Mats Hummels from Bayern (€30.5 million), and the Bellingham brothers, Jude and Jobe, brought in from Birmingham City and Sunderland for €30 million each.
Who is the young man for whom Kovač is ready to break the record? Said El Mala was born in Krefeld, the son of a Lebanese father and a German mother. He stands 187 centimeters tall, which is unusual for a winger, but his explosiveness, agility, and directness in one-on-one situations defy all stereotypes. Experts compare him to former Bayern winger Kingsley Coman and highlight that he possesses "street footballer talent, the kind of player increasingly rare in modern football."
His path to stardom was anything but easy. At 14, he failed the trials at Borussia Mönchengladbach and was on the verge of giving up football entirely. The turning point was his older brother Malik, who literally "took him by the hand" and led him to local club Meerbusch.
"I'm grateful to Malik that I play football; if it weren't for him, I would have quit," Said El Mala told German media.
The player himself believes those days shaped his unique style. "After training at the club, Malik and I often played with friends on local pitches. We could be completely free then, try all sorts of things, dribble a lot, play one-on-one. And that certainly helped me develop," he added.
His rise over the past two years has been meteoric. He made his senior debut at just 17 while on loan at third-division side Viktoria Köln, where he immediately scored in a 1-0 win against Lübeck. That season, he recorded 32 appearances for Viktoria, with 13 goals and five assists. In June 2024, Cologne signed professional contracts with Said and his brother Malek, after which both were immediately sent on another loan to Viktoria. Last season, for Cologne, he scored 13 goals and provided five assists in 36 matches, establishing himself as one of the most sought-after names of the transfer window.
His former coach Lukas Kwasniok, back in January 2026, prophetically predicted this outcome: "Let's not fool ourselves; Said won't stay with us for ten years! He's developing excellently, and one day we'll sell him for an incredible amount of money." Cologne, now led by Rene Wagner, has no intention of budging below the set €50 million, and it seems Borussia is willing to pay even more.
Ole Book is aware of the pressure and Kovač's demands. "We know what we want; we must strengthen the attacking positions. It's clear we'd like to bring in reinforcements as soon as possible, but we must respect the laws of the market; we have to keep pace with the times. Timing is absolutely crucial in such situations," the Borussia sporting director stated.
