At 1. FC Cologne, club officials remain baffled as to why Said El Mala and his family decided to withdraw from what would have been a record-breaking move to Brentford FC.

According to a report by Express, the €50 million transfer for the 19-year-old prodigy may have collapsed because his brother, Malek, could not secure a residence permit in time to complete a swift move to the Premier League side.

The El Mala brothers have always made their career moves together. In 2023, they switched from TSV Meerbusch to Viktoria Cologne, before joining 1. FC Cologne in 2024. Said then spent a loan spell back at Viktoria before returning to the Bundesliga team.

In the previous season, Said shone for the senior team, tallying 13 goals and 5 assists in 34 matches to help Cologne avoid relegation. Meanwhile, Malek played only for the U23 side in the Regionalliga West, scoring five times in eleven appearances before suffering a muscle tear that sidelined him for months. He returned to action just before the end of the season.

The brothers’ insistence on joint career progression had already cost Borussia Dortmund the chance to sign Said in 2024, as the club declined to include Malek in any potential deal. “That was the end of it for me,” Said told 11Freunde in a joint interview. The younger Said remains convinced about his brother’s potential, saying, “I am one hundred per cent sure that Malek will follow the same path.”

Speculation has emerged suggesting that Said El Mala might have received a more lucrative offer in the meantime. However, 1. FC Cologne reportedly “is unaware of anything.”

Beyond Malek’s situation and the halted Brentford deal, another possibility is that the family received a better proposal elsewhere. Even so, Express reported that “Cologne is still unaware of anything.”

Although Cologne and Brentford had already agreed on the terms, the move was abruptly cancelled last Thursday by the player’s mother—who also serves as his representative. The family informed Brentford that the transfer was “not the right step.” Express further reported that the FC management was left “stunned” by the sudden breakdown of negotiations.

Since then, there has been little movement. According to kicker, the Bundesliga side remains open to fresh discussions should a financially attractive offer arrive for the highly-rated youngster. Yet, the possibility of Said staying with Cologne has now gained renewed attention.

Sources at Effzeh are now seriously considering this unexpected development. Sport1 has also suggested that El Mala could make a U-turn, as no new offer has met both the club’s valuation and the player’s ambitions. Recent reports from Express even hint that a potential move to Borussia Dortmund might once again be under consideration.

Currently, El Mala is on vacation after missing out on Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad, even following Lennart Karl’s injury. Assan Ouedraogo was called up earlier this week to take El Mala’s spot on the trip to the USA.