Kicker says Brighton, Newcastle United, Brentford and the Chelsea have all been in contact with Koln about El Mala in recent weeks.
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Brighton have already had an offer for El Mala turned down by Koln, but have the advantage of also wanting to bring in brother Malek (20) for the reserve team.
It's suggested El Mala would also like to work with Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler. However, Hurzeler's situation is also in flux, with the German being linked with Bayer Leverkusen.
There's also doubts about Brighton being able to meet Koln's new €50m asking price for the 19 year-old.