Eintracht Frankfurt Coach Hütter Backs Santos Despite Goalkeeping Debate

Adi Hütter is standing by his goalkeeper – at least for now.

The returning Eintracht Frankfurt coach confirmed that Brazilian stopper Santos will start in the upcoming cup tie, even as debate over the club’s No. 1 has flared up again after the 0-7 humiliation at Brentford FC.

“He will play,” Hütter said on Wednesday, making the immediate decision clear while leaving the bigger issue hanging in the air. When pressed on whether Frankfurt would move for a new keeper, the Austrian drew a firm line: “Then we will see what else happens in future.”

That Brentford collapse has put Santos under the harshest spotlight yet. The 23-year-old has long divided opinion among fans, and the seven-goal drubbing in the final friendly has only sharpened the scrutiny. Local reports suggest Hütter’s trust in the Brazilian has eroded, and the club is actively weighing alternatives.

Names are already circulating. Noah Atubolu of SC Freiburg and former Frankfurt favourite Lukas Hradecky, currently at AS Monaco, are being discussed as potential transfer targets. Hütter, though, refused to be drawn into the speculation – not on goalkeepers, not on any other position. On reinforcements, he stayed deliberately opaque.

If the goalkeeping situation is clouded, at least the coach received better news at the other end of the pitch. Captain and defensive lynchpin Robin Koch, who suffered a mild concussion in the Brentford game, is expected to feature in the cup.

“I assume he will play,” Hütter said, a rare note of certainty in a week of uncomfortable questions.

The coaching staff have already gone back over the London debacle in detail with the squad. Hütter didn’t sugarcoat it. “Something like that is absolutely not on in that form. We carried out a clear analysis. It has been a warning shot.”

The message is unmistakable: Santos keeps the gloves for now, Koch should marshal the back line, and the 0-7 stands as a line in the sand. Whether it also proves to be the beginning of the end for Frankfurt’s current No. 1 is the decision still looming over the next few weeks.