The Köln Sentinel
Market6 Sep 2027
Köln turn down Bayern Munich for Sikou Niakaté
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market6 Sep 2027
Gerardo Arteaga hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Köln can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Köln close the window on a squad of their own making
23 in and 14 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market6 Sep 2027
Ellyes Skhiri raises the bar for Köln
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Köln heard it as anything else.
Market6 Sep 2027
Bayern Munich expected to open talks for Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Köln will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Door shut on Noah Atubolu
Köln asked and SC Freiburg said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Gerardo Arteaga
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad6 Sep 2027
No place for James Maddison in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Köln are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A step back for Gerardo Arteaga at Köln
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
In brief
- Squad Andreas Hahn stays put
- Loan watch Rav van den Berg has seen enough of Dynamo Dresden
- Squad Köln have started building around Marcel Ruiz