Said El Mala: The Bundesliga's Next Big Star?
Lothar Matthäus leans on the railing at the RheinEnergieStadion, the floodlights still hot on the pitch after Köln’s 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen, and doesn’t bother to hide his opinion.
“He is definitely a player for Jürgen Klopp. He would also have been a player for Julian Nagelsmann.”
The “he” is Said El Mala. And right now, the winger is at the heart of one of the most intriguing selection debates in German football.
The talent left waiting
Nagelsmann was the first to pull El Mala into the senior Germany setup, calling him up in November 2025 after his rapid rise with Köln. It looked like the start of a straightforward international career. It hasn’t been.
The Germany Under-21 international, with seven caps and one goal at that level, is still waiting for his senior debut. He didn’t make the World Cup squad, a snub that raised eyebrows at the time. Even when Bayern Munich’s 18-year-old attacker Lennart Karl suffered a serious injury shortly before the tournament, the door stayed shut.
Nagelsmann turned instead to Assan Ouedraogo of RB Leipzig. El Mala, again, watched from the outside.
Matthäus has a clear view on that decision, and he doesn’t hide behind tactical jargon.
“Maybe he didn't take him because there would have been too much fuss around him,” he told Sky. “But that's exactly what we need. A player like him with this pace uses his strengths. He has strengths that you need to be right at the top.”
A wild summer, a sharp start
El Mala’s club summer was anything but quiet. A move to FC Brentford was discussed and then dropped. Borussia Dortmund circled. In the end, the surprise twist: a contract extension in Cologne.
He answered the noise in the best way a forward can. On the opening matchday against Hoffenheim, he was on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win and looked every bit the breakout star Köln have been promising.
Then came a bump. Illness ruled him out of the 1-4 defeat to Stuttgart. A knock meant he started on the bench against Werder Bremen, only thrown on for the final 15 minutes. Even in that short spell, the stadium lifted. The expectation around him is real.
Coach Rene Wagner knows exactly what is at stake when the discussion turns to the DFB.
“He has already been involved. There has not yet been any exchange,” Wagner said of the national team situation. “Said now wants to perform in order to put himself forward. Unfortunately from the bench today, but we have great hope that he gives us plenty of energy.”
Linton Maina, on target for Köln against Bremen, put it more bluntly: when El Mala comes on, “a rocket is still coming off the bench.”
Köln sit 11th in the Bundesliga with four points. One more league game at Hamburger SV awaits before the first international break. Then the question becomes unavoidable: is El Mala finally in?
Klopp’s first big call
The timing could not be more dramatic. On Thursday, Jürgen Klopp names his first Germany squad. His first real statement as national coach. His first big gamble.
According to Sky, Klopp wants El Mala in that squad. The new DFB boss is said to see huge potential in the Köln winger and is ready to trust him from the start of his tenure.
Klopp didn’t name names at his unveiling at the end of July, but he left the door wide open for players exactly like El Mala. He talked about wingers not as extras, but as the heartbeat of his system.
“Because every opponent can make the pitch very narrow. The only advantage you have is for a brief moment out wide. The playmakers of the modern era are out wide,” Klopp said.
Look purely at the attacking profile and the fit is obvious. Pace. Aggressive dribbling. A direct line to goal. El Mala plays with the kind of vertical, fearless intent that has long defined Klopp’s football.
The catch? Under Klopp, the ball is only half the job. Counter-pressing will decide who survives and who fades. El Mala’s work against the ball, his willingness to sprint back as hard as he sprints forward, will matter as much as any highlight reel.
A Nations League stage, and a decision
Germany’s schedule under Klopp starts without a warm-up lap. The Nations League opener comes away to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 24 September. Three days later, Klopp walks out for his first home game in Augsburg against Greece. Serbia follow in Munich on 1 October, before a return match against Greece in Thessaloniki on 4 October.
Those are not friendlies to ease into. They are tests of character, tempo, and tactical discipline. Exactly the kind of stage where a fearless winger can tilt a game in a single run.
Matthäus is convinced El Mala belongs there. Wagner is pushing him to prove it every weekend. Köln fans can feel a national-team storyline building around their number.
Now it comes down to Klopp.
Does he turn the hype into a cap and hand El Mala a role in his new Germany — or does one of the most explosive wide players in the Bundesliga stay a “what if” for a little longer?
