Germany's Next Goalkeeper: Klopp's Dilemma After Neuer
When Jürgen Klopp announces his first Germany squad on 17 September, one position will dominate the debate before he even sits down. The new No. 1. The man after Manuel Neuer.
Julian Nagelsmann delayed that discussion with Neuer’s brief return for the 2026 World Cup push. Now Neuer has stepped away for good, the safety net has gone – and the question of who guards the DFB goal has suddenly become the defining call of Klopp’s early tenure.
For Thomas Helmer, the choice right now looks obvious.
“Looking at it right now: Nübel, who is playing sensationally in Istanbul and simply has match practice, is certainly a candidate,” the 1996 European champion told Sport1.
Alexander Nübel has used his move from Bayern Munich to Besiktas to relaunch his career in style. Six clean sheets in his first nine competitive games: hard numbers, strong form, real rhythm. He is playing every week, feeling every pressure moment. That matters to Helmer.
And yet, even with those performances, he still doesn’t see a clear heir to Neuer.
He calls it a “big question” who will ultimately succeed the long-time Bayern and Germany captain. Not just for the next international break, but for the next era.
Neuer had reclaimed his shirt from Oliver Baumann for that short-term World Cup return, but with the 38-year-old now retired, the field has opened up. Many pundits have turned their gaze towards Jonas Urbig, Neuer’s designated Bayern successor, who travelled to the World Cup as a training goalkeeper alongside Neuer, Baumann and Nübel, but never made the official tournament squad.
Helmer isn’t convinced.
“The question is how much playing time he will really get under Vincent Kompany,” he asked pointedly. So far, Urbig has only one competitive outing to his name this season – a cup tie against Osnabrück. Helmer underlined that he meant “no disrespect at all,” but one isolated appearance is nowhere near the standard he expects for the national team’s main man.
At Bayern, the line is clear: Urbig will get his minutes behind first-choice keeper Neuer. Managed development, gradual exposure, a long-term plan.
Helmer doesn’t buy that as a pathway to Germany’s No. 1 jersey.
“In the goalkeeping position, you need someone who plays all the time,” he said. Regular league action, constant scrutiny, big-stage pressure – that’s his checklist.
So Nübel’s weekly tests in Istanbul tick more boxes than Urbig’s theoretical potential in Munich. The numbers back it up, the match rhythm backs it up. But the door is not closed to others. Marc-André ter Stegen, long stuck in Neuer’s shadow, hovers in the background, his name inevitably surfacing whenever the DFB goal is up for grabs.
Klopp will walk into his first squad announcement with a wealth of options, but no uncontested king. The Neuer era is over. The race to own that empty shirt has only just begun.
