Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu is on the verge of signing for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, coach Adi Hütter said ahead of the season opener at Union Berlin on Saturday.
"The ink is not yet dry. But I assume that Noah will put his signature to the contract during the course of the day," Hütter told a news conference on Thursday. "It is a good step for him to move from Freiburg here to Eintracht, to a big club."
His signature would end a long-running transfer saga surrounding the highly-rated keeper. The Austrian coach left open whether the 24-year-old will start in the capital.
"We signed Noah as our number one. After the final training session we will decide who will be in goal on Saturday," Hütter said.
There has recently been a major debate among Frankfurt fans about goalkeepers Kaua Santos and Michael Zetterer. It was clear that head of sport Markus Krösche and new coach Hütter were looking for a new number one.
According to media reports, Atubolu has extended his Freiburg contract, which had been due to run until 2027, in order to be loaned out. That would not have been possible if his deal had been expiring at the end of the season.
"What I can confirm is that this can be a model for a future solution," Freiburg coach Julian Schuster said. Freiburg executives Oliver Leki and Jochen Saier were originally said to have hoped for a transfer fee of between €15 million and €20 million ($17 million - $23 million).
Atubolu has been first-choice keeper in Freiburg for the past three seasons but had lodged a request to leave. He wanted to move to the English Premier League, but a transfer did not materialize.
Freiburg moved early and signed Mio Backhaus from league rivals Werder Bremen as a successor.
Schuster had therefore long since stopped planning on having Atubolu and he was absent from their training camp.
Atubolu is considered one of the possible successors to Manuel Neuer in the Germany team under new coach Jürgen Klopp.
Leave a Comment