1. FC Cologne
Top talent Simpson-Pusey becomes a bargain
June 8, 2026 – 5:26 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
1. FC Köln is about to sign Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on a permanent basis. The Brit becomes a bargain and thus frees up money for further transfers.
It was already months ago 1. FC Cologne Clear: the billy goats would move a lot of money in the transfer summer of 2026. Not just because Said El Mala could (and still can) fetch a record fee. But also because FC signed several players on loan in the summer of 2025 and winter 2026 who could be tied down long-term with a purchase option.
And that’s how it happened at first: Tom Krauss even stayed on under obligation to buy after he was completely relegated. The FC transfers around 3.5 million. Euros to Mainz. Jakub Kaminski is the biggest bargain of the season at 5.5 million. Euros that the billy goats pay to relegated Wolfsburg. The Pole is now worth four times as much.
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Five instead of eight million euros transfer fee
And then there’s Jahmai Simpson-Pusey. The 20-year-old came from Manchester City in a transfer coup in the winter, immediately proved to be a reinforcement, but would cost eight million euros if FC wanted to sign him permanently. Sports director Thomas Kessler has now renegotiated and was able to achieve real success.
According to Sky broadcaster, Simpson-Pusey is staying in Cologne and FC is only paying five million euros instead of eight. The strong central defender already has a market value of nine million euros and, like Kaminski, could turn out to be a gold mine once established in the Bundesliga. At least that’s what the FC bosses around Kessler are speculating on.
Important facts for squad planning
With Simpson-Pusey, FC closes the most important personnel aside from the question of whether Said El Mala will stay or not. The latter question is currently considered to be resolved as there are no further offers for the striker. The transfer market is still open for almost three months. A lot can still happen. However, with Simpson-Pusey, FC is now creating important facts and closing a central construction site in the squad.
The billy goats urgently want to improve the entire back four. In any case, two left-backs should come, as well as a left-footer for central defense. For all three signings, in addition to the obvious defensive qualities, attention should also be paid to the playing strength, similar to Simpson-Pusey. Because that’s exactly what the FC game was lacking last season – there were hardly any ideas coming from the defense, just as there was no danger of scoring.