Germany's Goalkeeper Dilemma: Who Will Replace Manuel Neuer?
When Jürgen Klopp steps in front of the cameras on 17 September to announce his first Germany squad, the real drama will be in one position. The armband can wait, the tactical tweaks can wait. The question that will dominate is simple: who takes over from Manuel Neuer?
For Thomas Helmer, European champion in 1996 and long-time Bayern defender, one name currently stands out.
"Looking at it right now: Nübel, who is playing sensationally in Istanbul and simply has match practice, is certainly a candidate," he told Sport1.
Alexander Nübel has rebuilt his reputation at Besiktas. Six clean sheets in his first nine competitive matches underline a goalkeeper in rhythm, a No. 1 who is actually playing every week rather than waiting in the shadows in Munich. The move away from Bayern has given him what every keeper needs most: games.
Yet even with Nübel’s surge, Helmer refuses to call the race.
He still sees it as a "big question" who will ultimately succeed Neuer as Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper. And that question has grown louder since Neuer’s definitive farewell.
Neuer had briefly reclaimed his spot for the 2026 World Cup push, edging out Oliver Baumann to return as the established No. 1. That chapter is now closed. With Neuer retired for good, the throne is empty – and the list of pretenders is growing.
Inside Bayern, many see Jonas Urbig as the long-term heir. He travelled to the World Cup as a training goalkeeper, working alongside Neuer, Baumann and Nübel, but never made the official tournament squad. His potential is not in doubt. His situation is.
Helmer is unconvinced that potential alone will carry Urbig into the national team’s starting role.
"The question is how much playing time he will really get under Vincent Kompany," he said. So far, the answer is brutal in its simplicity: not much. "Just one cup game against Osnabrück for now – and I don't mean that disrespectfully at all – certainly won't be enough."
At Säbener Straße, the message has been that Urbig will get his minutes behind first-choice goalkeeper Neuer. Bayern want to integrate him carefully, to let him grow in the slipstream of a legend. For Helmer, that careful plan clashes with the reality of international football.
"In the goalkeeping position, you need someone who plays all the time," he insisted.
That is where Nübel’s case strengthens with every Besiktas clean sheet. He is not just training at the highest level, he is living it, week after week, under pressure, under floodlights, with points on the line.
And somewhere in the background, another name lingers: Marc-André ter Stegen. Long seen as the eternal No. 2 behind Neuer, the Barcelona goalkeeper suddenly finds a door opening again. A DFB comeback for him would reshape the entire debate.
Klopp’s first big call as Germany coach will not be about romance or reputation. It will be about form, rhythm, and who dares to claim a shirt that has belonged to one man for more than a decade.
