Alexander Nübel’s career trajectory has taken several twists and turns ever since he signed for Bayern Munich from Schalke 04 in the summer of 2020. He had agreed to make the move prior to that summer window opening, but his form at Schalke started to take a dip and he was already setup for problems to arise.
There was a clause in his Bayern contract when he signed from Schalke that stipulated he should play at least 8-9 matches, which was always going to be relatively unrealistic with the presence
of Manuel Neuer in the squad. That dynamic ultimately led to Nübel pushing for his loan move to AS Monaco and subsequently VfB Stuttgart to be in setups where he would be the number one keeper as it was clear there wasn’t really a chance for that at Bayern.
Now, per information from az’s Maximilian Koch (via @iMiaSanMia), there is yet a chance that Nübel could return to Bayern to compete for the number one keeper spot at the club should Neuer retire after the end of this season. If that was to occur, he would then be competing with Jonas Urbig for the number one spot at the club, since it was Bayern’s whole plan to have Urbig eventually take over for Neuer at some point when they made the decision to buy him from FC Köln in January 2025.
Much like the understanding that Bayern’s front office has with Neuer, Nübel is expecting the veteran keeper to make a decision on his future by some point in April. The door is open for Neuer to extend his contract by another year, but it is still not clear whether or not he will decide to stay beyond this summer, though he has remained firm in his stance that he does not want to come out of international retirement for the German national team for this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
By that same token, if Neuer does decide to extend his contract by at least another year at Bayern, Nübel would then continue to look for another club when his loan spell at Stuttgart ends this June. A lot can happen between now and the end of June, but all eyes will remain on Neuer as he recovers from a torn muscle in his left calf and works his way back into the squad while Urbig stands in for him. He’s expected to be out for at least three weeks, so his return to action could very well coincide with April, when it’s anticipated that he’ll have a decision on his future made.
