A reporter from the German media Bild, named Axel Hesse, updated the Cologne, Hoffenheim and Brighton columns on May 13, the day the Hupu tags were updated.
Starting from Sunday, Cologne Football Club's plan has been generally finalized. Although they lost to Heidenheim with a score of 1 to 3, they have guaranteed relegation success. Now, specific personnel planning can begin.
Obviously, Rene Wagner (37 years old), who took over as interim head coach after Lucas Kvasniok (44 years old) in March this year, will be officially promoted to head coach. Immediately afterwards, the team will carry out lineup reorganization work.
The key player is Said El-Mala, who is only 19 years old. Will this rising star who has emerged this season choose to stay on the team or leave the team? The contract he signed will not expire until 2030 and there is no termination clause.
Many clubs are interested in him. However, especially the Premier League club Brighton, they still covet El Mara and have not relaxed. The two parties have reached an agreement on the contract details. In the first year of joining the Premier League club, El Mara can receive a maximum salary of 4 million euros.
The problem is that there is a situation where Cologne expects a transfer fee of 50 million euros, which is one club's asking price, but Brighton is only willing to pay 35 million euros, which is another club's bid. The two are far apart, and because of this, the deal is currently on hold.
In addition, given the lack of willingness to negotiate in Cologne, the club of former St. Pauli coach Fabian Schüzeler is looking for other options.
"Sports Bild" has received news that Brighton made a formal inquiry to Hoffenheim's Bazoumana Toure, the 20-year-old, in early May. Toure is also a winger. So far, his best position is the left winger, just like Elmara.
The two young stars have extremely obvious and complete differences in their understanding of this position: Elmara relies on his strong body and considerable speed to break through the opponent's defense and then look for opportunities to score. What he has achieved this season is: twelve goals and five assists in the Bundesliga.
An agreement has been reached on Toure's transfer fee. He can join for 40 million euros. He has better skills and is more like an offensive and defensive player. Although the Ivory Coast international has only scored 5 goals, he has 12 assists. With his superb skills, he is also a signing target of many clubs including Liverpool.
They regard him as a potential successor to the 33-year-old Salah, who is about to leave Liverpool. Toure's advantage is that he has already reached an agreement with Hoffenheim on the transfer, and the transfer fee required to let him go is about 40 million euros.
Toure is expected to participate in this summer's World Cup, which leaves Brighton still in a state of waiting. The deal will not be finalized until the end of the season, and a decision is not expected to be made until after the World Cup, unless a top club like Liverpool takes substantive action before the World Cup begins.
For Toure, this means that Brighton will not always be in a state of waiting. For Cologne, this also means that without a blockbuster transfer, Cologne will not be able to sign top stars. At that time, head coach Wagner's task will be to improve the level of existing players.