Germany's Goalkeeping Future: Who Will Succeed Manuel Neuer?

Lothar Matthäus has seen enough German goalkeeping generations to know what comes next. In his latest Sky column, the record international sketched out the battle to succeed Manuel Neuer – and it is a long list with one clear message: Jürgen Klopp will not be short of options.

At the heart of it sits Marc-André ter Stegen. Again.

Ter Stegen: The nearly man with one last shot

Matthäus named the Ajax keeper among four leading candidates to take over in the Germany goal after Neuer’s latest retirement. The 34-year-old, now on loan in Amsterdam, remains a serious contender in Matthäus’ eyes.

“He will definitely be involved,” Matthäus said, before underlining the stakes. If ter Stegen keeps his level in the Eredivisie, he is “a candidate for the number one spot in the Germany goal.”

For ter Stegen, that phrase must sound painfully familiar. Years in Neuer’s shadow, untimely injuries, and a strange twist of fate have left him as the great “what if” of German tournament football. He has never started a major tournament as first-choice.

He was even pencilled in as the main man for the 2026 World Cup. Then Neuer came out of DFB retirement, reclaimed the shirt, and ter Stegen’s body betrayed him again. Injuries cost him his rhythm at Barcelona, nudged him down the hierarchy there, and forced a reset.

A back operation, a drawn-out saga, a loan to Girona. A thigh injury. Another interruption.

Only this summer did he land at Ajax on loan, chasing stability and minutes. Seven games, 11 goals conceded, and a costly mistake in the Conference League play-offs have not made it a flawless audition. His Barcelona contract runs to 2028, but his future in Catalonia is effectively over.

So if Klopp calls, ter Stegen will want more than a place on the plane. At this stage of his career, he will only come back to the national team if he is trusted as the starter. No more waiting rooms.

Urbig: The long-term project

Matthäus, though, is not just thinking about the next international window. He is looking at the next decade.

In his view, Bayern Munich’s Jonas Urbig is the man Germany must build around for the future. Currently Neuer’s understudy in what is widely expected to be the veteran’s final club season, Urbig represents the long game.

The DFB, Matthäus argued, has to “build up” Urbig so that Germany has a clearly established number one at future tournaments. Age is the key factor: he is young enough to cover multiple cycles and offer continuity that has been missing behind Neuer.

It is a clear call for a succession plan, not another stopgap.

Karius back in the frame

The most eye-catching name on Matthäus’ list, though, is Loris Karius.

The Schalke 04 keeper, so long defined by one night in Kyiv under Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, suddenly finds himself pushed into the conversation again. And not just as a romantic comeback story. Matthäus believes that, on form, Karius “has a good chance” of a call-up.

Last season, Karius was outstanding in Schalke’s promotion campaign and, in Matthäus’ view, “played a key part” in their return. He has carried that level into the Bundesliga, including a composed display in a 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich that underlined his resurgence.

“The past he experienced with Klopp in Liverpool should remain in the drawer,” Matthäus insisted.

That “past” is seared into Champions League history. Karius, then Klopp’s regular number one at Liverpool, made two catastrophic errors in the 2018 final against Real Madrid, mistakes that effectively cost his side the trophy and shattered his standing at Anfield.

Loans to Besiktas and Union Berlin followed. The relationship with Klopp cooled during his time in Istanbul, according to kicker, and he never played for the German coach again. In 2022, he left Liverpool on a free.

The story could easily have ended there, with Karius drifting through the game as a cautionary tale. Instead, his January 2025 move to Schalke has turned into a revival. For club and player, it has been a stroke of luck.

Now, as Klopp prepares to take over the national team, the idea of Karius walking back into a dressing room led by the same coach who last saw him in pieces feels almost cinematic. Matthäus, at least, believes the door should be open.

A crowded field

Karius and ter Stegen are not alone in this race. Matthäus listed four main names: ter Stegen, Urbig, Karius and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Noah Atubolu.

Beyond that, he estimated that seven or eight keepers are realistically in contention for a call-up. The wider pool includes Alexander Nübel, currently at Besiktas, Finn Dahmen of Augsburg, Freiburg’s Mio Backhaus and Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann.

Recent reports have linked all of them with the national team picture. One of them, though, appears to be out of the running. According to Bild, Baumann will not be nominated by Klopp.

The numbers underline the depth. What Germany lacks right now is not goalkeepers, but clarity.

Klopp’s first list

That clarity will start to emerge when Klopp names his first Germany squad. His reign opens with an away Nations League trip to the Netherlands, and there are suggestions he could go with an XXL squad to assess as many players as possible at close quarters.

After the Dutch test, Germany face Greece and then Serbia at home to round off a four-match block that will set the tone for the new era.

By then, at least one question should have moved closer to an answer.

Who stands in goal for Klopp’s Germany: the nearly man chasing his long-awaited tournament, the heir apparent Bayern are grooming, the reborn keeper Klopp once left behind, or a new face from the pack?