Brighton trying to secure negotiations ‘for weeks’ – Club ‘consistently blocking’ efforts

Brighton and Hove Albion have been pushing for almost a month to open formal talks over Said El Mala, but 1. FC Köln are standing firm.

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger report on the 19-year-old forward today, including comments from sporting director Thomas Kessler, who appears to be growing increasingly frustrated with the situation.

Brighton pushing, Köln resisting

According to the newspaper Brighton, led by Fabian Hürzeler, have been attempting to arrange a negotiation meeting in Cologne ‘for weeks’.

Their interest is described as persistent, having targeted Said El Mala since last summer. But Köln have been ‘consistently blocking’ attempts to move discussions forwards.

The reason is twofold. The German side want a far higher fee than Brighton have shown a willingness to pay. Their demand is reportedly €50m, while Brighton have an upper limit of €35m.

Köln also want to focus entirely on their battle to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga. They currently sit six points outside of the bottom two after 28 games.

Kessler: “We have no serious offer”

Köln have been keeping Brighton at arm’s length since last summer. That includes Seagulls owner Tony Blom being rebuffed by FC Köln supervisory board chief Lionel Souque.

He recalled telling Bloom, “I’m a fruit and vegetable vendor, you’re apparently a poker player. This negotiation between us isn’t going to work.”

Now sporting director Thomas Kessler wants to shut down the rumours too. He insisted the club are yet to receive any serious bids for their star man.

“We maintain a very reliable and close relationship with Said and his family,” he said.

“As of now, we have not received any offers from other clubs that we need to seriously consider. The player has also not expressed any desire to enter into discussions with other clubs.”

“Said has made it unequivocally clear that his full focus is currently on his development at FC Köln and the season.”

Kessler also rejected talk of a set asking price: “No, we haven’t defined one.”

Brighton risk looking desperate

For Brighton, the situation is now looking increasingly desperate. Four weeks of unanswered attempts paints a picture of a club pushing harder than perhaps the situation requires.

Köln certainly aren’t bending. In fact, they seem to be enjoying being able to say no. Each rejection, at this point, only serves to strengthen their leverage.

Brighton’s persistence indicated that El Mala is their top target this summer and talk of an upper limit of €35m looks unsubstantiated given the efforts they’re going to just to make talks happen.

If anything, it all looks a little bit desperate, which is not a position that Bloom and Brighton usually adopt.