El Mala is 19, came from the 3rd league, did really well there, doesn’t play 600 minutes in Cologne and still has six goals. This is not a coincidence, but a reference to something that we have missed for a long time: players who can make the difference in a short time, without having to pay the hard way for 50 games.
Sure, the risk is there. But if Nagelsmann constantly talks about “guys with attitude” and “specialists,” then a nomination like this is the test of whether he is serious. And honestly, I’d rather have an El Mala that changes the game than the 27th experiment with a solid but replaceable Bundesliga all-rounder.
Maybe we should just be happy that someone appears in Cologne again who makes us ask ourselves: What if he really takes off?