Justin Diehl and his management will not move in their negotiating position as of now.
1. FC Köln will also not be moving in its negotiating position. Baumgart made that clear.
But there will certainly be clubs that are prepared to approach Diehl and his management and make concessions to him, whether sporting, financial or both is an open question.
1. FC Cologne is clinging to its own pride and the expectation that Diehl will sign a new contract because of his ties to the city of Cologne. This is a legitimate but very weak negotiating position that will most likely lead to Diehl moving.
The bottom line is that 1. FC Köln should have jumped over their shadow and paid Diehl a leap of faith. 15 measly Bundesliga minutes are simply not enough. The club should have used Diehl more. I reject the comments here along the lines that Diehl would be torn apart in the Bundesliga. There’s no way to judge that; he should have been given more minutes to do that.
Something similar could be said about Wirtz back then. “In the U19 Bundesliga he spun past the opponents, but in the Bundesliga it’s a completely different story.” Everyone knows how that went. Diehl is very talented, obviously far too good for the regional league. Nobody can say yet how he would get along in the BuLi.
But it’s not too late yet. It would be a wise decision to throw him in at the deep end a few times now until the winter break, perhaps with 200-300 Bundesliga minutes at the end of December. Then you go into a new round of negotiations, say “Look, boy, you get assignments here, you get chances, the coach sees you, uses you because you deliver in the regional league. What about a new contract until 2026. Then “Are you 22 and a Bundesliga regular at 1. FC Köln in your hometown. Hand on it?”
This is the only way to get Diehl back to the negotiating table.