Agent denies transfer report! Goalkeeper drama at Eintracht Frankfurt escalates
Eintracht Frankfurt’s goalkeeping chaos is coming to a head immediately before the start of the season.
After The Athletic reported during the week that Frankfurt's Michael Zetterer was close to a move to Leeds United in the Premier League, the player's camp have now firmly rejected the report. "We are very surprised by reports claiming that Michael Zetterer is close to a move. They are not true. Michael and his family feel very comfortable in Frankfurt. A move is currently out of the question for him," adviser Nico Pellatz told Bild.
The Athletic had even previously reported very advanced talks between Leeds and Eintracht. According to that report, Zetterer was set to become the backup goalkeeper at the Premier League club behind the new number one, James Trafford. As things stand, though, a transfer does not appear to be on the agenda.
That leaves the goalkeeper position as one of the biggest problem areas in the Eintracht squad. Kaua Prates will start between the posts in the first round of the DFB Cup against St. Tönis on Friday.
Prates is under particular scrutiny. He conceded seven goals in the recent pre-season friendly hammering against FC Brentford and looked especially poor for the second. Prates has also repeatedly shown weaknesses in the past.
Eintracht therefore want Noah Atubolu to solve the problem. He is said to be the club's preferred option in goal.
Atubolu, though, is also enduring a turbulent transfer summer. After splitting from his advisory agency, the 24-year-old is still looking for a new club. A future at SC Freiburg is considered out of the question after he rejected an extension in May to his contract, which runs until 2027.
Originally, Atubolu was targeting a move to the Premier League, ideally to a club with European ambitions. Aston Villa in particular were mentioned as interested. However, Emiliano Martínez remained the clear number one there, while concrete interest from England has so far failed to materialise.
