Eintracht Frankfurt enter the new season under Adi Hütter with their goalkeeping situation unresolved and pressure mounting from all directions. The 0-7 pre-season defeat to Brentford on August 15 exposed serious defensive weaknesses and triggered a chain of transfer decisions that have yet to produce clarity between the posts. Kaua Santos, who conceded seven that day and made a string of errors throughout pre-season, has effectively lost the confidence of the coaching staff. Yet the path to a new number one remains complicated.

Reports from The Athletic claimed Michael Zetterer was close to joining Leeds United, which would have freed up a squad spot. His agent moved quickly to dismiss that story, telling Bild that a transfer is not on the table and that Zetterer and his family are settled in Frankfurt. That leaves the club still holding two goalkeepers neither Hütter nor the board fully trust.

Noah Atubolu from SC Freiburg remains the preferred solution, with the 24-year-old now viewing Frankfurt as his most realistic option after a turbulent summer that saw him split from his agency and watch his Premier League ambitions come to nothing. Freiburg are asking for at least 15 million euros, and no concrete negotiations have started. Lukas Hradecky has been mentioned as an alternative, though reports describe that trail as cold.

Captain Robin Koch also picked up a neck injury against Brentford, adding further defensive urgency ahead of Friday's DFB-Pokal first-round trip to fifth-tier SC St. Tönis, where Santos is set to start.