“Things happened that are not acceptable”: Noah Atubolu opens up about summer transfer drama

In the final stages of the transfer window, Noah Atubolu still found a place at Eintracht Frankfurt. Before that, the goalkeeper went through a real transfer drama, which he has now spoken about in detail.

The 24-year-old turned down a contract extension at SC Freiburg at the end of last season, despite the club pushing to keep him, and publicly declared his intention to leave.

But concrete offers from Premier League clubs, where Atubolu was reportedly on the shortlist, never materialised. With SC already having signed Mio Backhaus from Werder Bremen as his successor, the 22-cap Germany Under-21 international suddenly faced the prospect of the stands.

Throughout pre-season, Atubolu stayed in Freiburg and trained individually away from the team. Shortly before the transfer window closed, talks with Eintracht became more concrete. As Frankfurt were apparently unable to afford the transfer fee for a permanent deal this summer, the outcome was a loan with an option to buy and a possible obligation to buy.

"It all happened so quickly that I couldn't even think. To be honest: I had waited a very long time for this moment. Many weeks had passed and I am very happy now to be doing what I love. Namely being out on the pitch and playing football for Eintracht Frankfurt," the goalkeeper now explained at a press conference.

Now he says he is relieved and happy to have found a way out of his tricky situation at SGE. "It's a great club that I like very much. Maybe, in the snapshot of last season, not where it should be. But I'm really excited to be here."

Noah Atubolu speaks about transfer drama in the summer

At the same time, the 24-year-old stressed that some things had happened during the transfer window, which has now closed, that he personally did not agree with at all. Atubolu did not go into detail, but his frustration over promises and agreements not being kept came through clearly between the lines.

"A lot happened after the Europa League final. Before the game against Union, I had not played for eight weeks. It's no secret that the things that happened over the summer were not enjoyable," said Atobolu. "I made the best of it. Not everything was always great and it was not an easy time either. Things happened that are not acceptable. That's one way of describing it."

Last weekend, he made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 3-3 draw against Union Berlin. For the coming season, coach Adi Hütter plans to use him as the clear number one.