According to transfer journalist Nicolò Schira, the 19-year-old has struck full agreement with Borussia Dortmund over a contract running to the summer of 2031, with talks between the two clubs now well advanced over a fee reported at €50 million plus €5 million in bonuses, along with a modest sell-on clause for Cologne.
The figure closely mirrors the package Brentford had previously agreed with Köln earlier in the window, only for El Mala himself to reject that move.
El Mala enjoyed an impressive breakout season in the Bundesliga, scoring 13 goals and adding four assists in 34 league appearances, 20 of them starts, form that has made him one of the most sought-after young attackers in German football.
He is under contract at Köln until 2030, and interest has come from across Europe this summer: Brentford had a €45 million offer, including €5 million in bonuses, accepted by the club before El Mala turned the move down, while AS Roma's interest also failed to progress. Dortmund themselves prepared a bid of around €44 million plus bonuses last week, according to Sky, before the two parties reportedly closed the gap to reach their current position.
Köln's willingness to sanction a sale reflects the scale of Dortmund's revised offer relative to what other suitors have been prepared to pay, even as the club faces losing one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from its academy pipeline in recent years.
Should the transfer be completed, El Mala would follow a growing number of Bundesliga prospects to move directly between rival German clubs rather than test themselves abroad, continuing Dortmund's recent pattern of investing heavily in promising domestic talent.
Köln head coach René Wagner had previously praised El Mala's professionalism throughout the transfer saga, noting the teenager continued to train with full commitment despite the swirl of speculation around his future.
That approach appears to have paid off for all parties: Köln stand to bank a club-record fee, Dortmund secure one of the Bundesliga's most talked-about young attackers, and El Mala gets the move he is understood to have wanted since Brentford's proposed switch collapsed earlier in the window.