As kicker reports, Atubolu now sees a move to Eintracht Frankfurt as the "most stable alternative" after his plan to join a European heavyweight, ideally from the Premier League, fell apart.
Before the summer transfer window, Atubolu and his agency Epic Sports badly miscalculated, turning down a contract extension at SC Freiburg beyond 2027 to reinforce the keeper's desire for a move to a top club. The Sport-Club moved quickly and signed Mio Backhaus as their new number one for a club-record fee of €12 million. Atubolu, though, suddenly found himself at a standstill.
Contrary to expectations, solid interest or even concrete offers from England, from Aston Villa for example, never materialised. Little else developed in the market that appealed to Atubolu either. kicker recently reported that the 24-year-old had "long been dissatisfied" with the work of his advisers.
Atubolu was apparently also enticed with possible BVB interest
The agency of the widely known and bizarre Ali Barat had "also fired Atubolu up and kept him interested with three attractive if-then scenarios", it was said. According to the report, the advisers told Atubolu that he was, among others, a hot transfer candidate for Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Aston Villa should the established number one at those clubs leave. But that was quite clearly not the case at any of the clubs.
To avoid the horror scenario of spending a season in the stands at Freiburg, and also with a view to a possible future with the Germany national team, Atubolu had to rethink. Frankfurt now apparently offer him a way out.
A week and a half before the start of the Bundesliga, the Hessians are suddenly after the 7-0 thrashing by Brentford looking after all for a new number one, after neither the injury- and error-prone Kaua Santos nor Michael Zetterer, who only arrived from Werder Bremen last summer, could convince new coach Adi Hütter. On Sunday, kicker then revealed their interest in Atubolu.
Getty ImagesSC Freiburg reportedly want €15 million for Atubolu - Hradecky an alternative?
The only question is whether Eintracht can afford the man who may soon become Germany's national goalkeeper at all. Despite the widely known dilemma, the Sport-Club want at least €15 million for Atubolu. But SGE still have not reached their planned transfer surplus of €50 million this summer.
According to kicker there have not yet been any concrete negotiations between Freiburg and Eintracht. The same also applies to Hütter's former club Monaco and SGE. Recently, alongside Atubolu, Eintracht were linked with a return for Lukas Hradecky, who remains hugely popular in Frankfurt. According to kicker the trail is not "hot", however.
One thing is certain, though: sporting director Markus Krösche will not focus solely on Atubolu in the goalkeeper issue, "so as not to weaken his negotiating position with Freiburg". The signing or loan of a number two from a foreign top club is also conceivable.
Atubolu apparently checks other transfer options again
What happens next in Frankfurt in the goalkeeper position until a new keeper possibly arrives? In the first round of the DFB Cup this weekend against SC St. Tönis, Kaua Santos will once again stand between the posts. Hütter confirmed that at a press conference on Wednesday. "We will go into the game with him. Then we will see what happens in future," said the Austrian.
Meanwhile, Atubolu is at least back keeping fit in Freiburg's team training after previously working individually. And although he could well imagine a move to SGE, he is currently reorganising his surroundings once more and checking "how solid the long-standing interest from other clubs such as Napoli, Marseille or Bournemouth is".
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