NEWS
New Number One for Adi Hütter
Eintracht Frankfurt has a new goalkeeper. SGE loans the German international for one year with an obligation to buy from a competitor.
The transfer saga surrounding Noah Atubolu at SC Freiburg has come to an end!
Atubolu moves on loan from the Breisgau side to Eintracht Frankfurt.
To facilitate the loan, the German extended his contract at Freiburg by one year – a player cannot be loaned out in the final year of their contract.
SGE has an obligation to buy amounting to 12.5 million euros at the end of the season.
Narrowly Avoiding a Nightmare Scenario
The 24-year-old had already expressed his desire to leave Freiburg before the end of last season. Subsequently, Freiburg signed young Mio Backhaus from Werder Bremen for twelve million euros as their new number one.
Atubolu and his agent, meanwhile, had been eyeing a transfer to the Premier League. However, this did not materialize.
For a long time, it looked as though the goalkeeper, who was called up to the German national team in autumn 2025, might be relegated to the stands at Freiburg.
Adi Hütter as a Way Out
But then came the turning point in the transfer poker game. New Frankfurt coach Adi Hütter strongly advocated for a new goalkeeper, as he was not pleased with young Kaua Santos' performances during pre-season.
The 0-7 loss in the friendly against Brentford is said to have been the decisive factor. "He made us doubt," said Adi Hütter.
Now the choice has fallen on Atubolu, who will go into the Bundesliga season as the number one. On Saturday, SGE kicks off with a home game against FC Augsburg.
