As Bild report, Atubolu has now fully committed to a move to Eintracht Frankfurt, which rules out any other clubs from abroad.
Just a week ago, though, the picture was said to be completely different: according to Bild, Atubolu had already agreed a move with Olympique Marseille. Then came SGE's 0-7 collapse against Brentford, including a blunder from Kaua Santos, and a phone call from sporting director Markus Krösche to Atubolu's advisers at Epic Sports. After that, Atubolu is said to have put talks with Marseille on hold and turned his full attention to Eintracht.
Ideally, the paper writes, Atubolu wants to be in goal for the Eagles as early as next Saturday in the Bundesliga opener at Union Berlin. But the negotiations are still likely to be long and difficult. A special transfer model could help SGE and SC Freiburg find common ground. For an Atubolu move to happen, though, one domino still has to fall at Eintracht themselves.
Eintracht Frankfurt: confusion over Michael Zetterer's imminent departure
First, one of the two goalkeepers coach Adi Hütter is not planning to use as number one this season still has to leave the club to clear the way for Atubolu.
After injury-prone and error-prone Kaua Santos was at least allowed to stay in goal in the DFB Cup, everything has been pointing towards Michael Zetterer leaving. The Athletic even reported last week that a move to Leeds United was imminent, where Zetterer is set to serve as number two behind James Trafford.
Zetterer's adviser, however, recently flatly rejected that version of events in Bild. "We are very surprised by reports that Michael Zetterer is supposedly on the verge of a move. They do not correspond to the truth. Michael and his family feel very comfortable in Frankfurt. A move is currently out of the question for him," said Nico Pellatz. Still, Bild are now reporting that there has been "movement" in the transfer case involving the 31-year-old and that a move is "possible".
Such an exit would not only help Eintracht, but also Atubolu and, ultimately, Freiburg. At the Breisgau club, Atubolu is under contract only until 2027, so this is, on paper, the last summer in which the 24-year-old would still bring SCF a transfer fee.
Getty ImagesNoah Atubolu experiences a bitter transfer summer and pulls the plug
Freiburg had originally hoped for a fee of up to €20 million, before the transfer window took a bitter turn for all sides after Atubolu rejected a contract extension and underlined his desire to leave, while solid offers for example from Atubolu's preferred destination, the cash-rich Premier League failed to materialise for the German goalkeeper.
Now Atubolu has parted ways with his advisory agency, and Freiburg would probably also accept a model that would at least refinance the record €12 million transfer of Mio Backhaus, who was signed immediately as Atubolu's replacement. In this regard, Bild also bring another special transfer model into play.
Will Atubolu extend after all at SC Freiburg? Special transfer model as the solution to the dilemma
Under that scenario, Freiburg could still extend Atubolu's deal and then initially send him to SGE on loan. Afterwards, an obligation to buy could kick in. According to Bild, Eintracht then plan to offer Atubolu a contract until 2031 with an annual salary of €2.5 million to €3 million.
Julian Schuster also hinted on Sunday, after Freiburg's comfortable progress against Fortuna Düsseldorf into the second round of the cup, that SCF will not stand in the goalkeeper's way and that a move to Eintracht is a serious option. "Fundamentally, Frankfurt are a very, very big club in Germany. So that can be a possibility, that he stands between the posts there," said Schuster.
Schuster also stressed that, if a move happens, Atubolu will arrive at his new club in top condition, and that the keeper, who should also be a serious option for the Germany national team in the coming years, has not been excluded from training. "We are constantly in contact and then integrate him accordingly into our training. That is our task and our duty when someone is under contract. And he is. That is why we make sure that we put him under load and train him so that he is basically at a new level there," said Schuster.
Even so, according to Bild, there were still no concrete negotiations between Freiburg and Frankfurt over the weekend.
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