News blog about 1. FC Cologne
Transfer in winter? Defenders back in FC focus
Updated 12/16/2025 – 3:31 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
1. FC Köln is playing first class again this season. In the news blog on t-online you will find all the important news about the “Geissbockheim”.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Secures it 1. FC Cologne a central defender from SC Paderborn half a year late? Due to injury concerns in defense, the Billy Goats are looking for a new defender for the center. Calvin Brackelmann could now move to FC for around one million euros.
As “Bild” reports, FC has once again expressed its interest in the 26-year-old, who has already worked with FC coach Lukas Kwasniok. Brackelmann played in the Cologne youth team between 2017 and 2020 and knows the club. His contract in Paderborn expires in the summer of 2026.
Super teenager Said El Mala has caught the attention of two Premier League teams, according to a media report. As “Sport Bild” reports, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have contacted the Bundesliga club about the 19-year-old striker. Consultants are said to have fundamentally inquired about the club’s willingness to make a move in the summer and their expectations of a transfer fee.
El Mala has a long-term contract in the cathedral city until June 2030. The attacker has already scored six goals and prepared three more goals this Bundesliga season.
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
The 1st FC Cologne has agreed with Sturm Graz on a transfer of Jusuf Gazibegovic. The right-back is returning to his former club in the Austrian Bundesliga on loan until the end of the season. “We spoke to Gazi very openly and fairly. Since he has only had a little playing time so far, the loan is a very good solution,” said sports director Thomas Kessler.
“After good preparation, I was of course hoping for more playing time,” said Gazibegovic, who only moved to FC from Graz in January 2025. “However, after the start of the season it became clear relatively quickly that I wasn’t going to play much. Unfortunately, that’s sometimes how it is in football. It was clear to me that I would have to reorient myself for six months.” The 25-year-old still has a contract in Cologne until 2028.