Things have not been going well this year for Bayern Munich goalkeeper Christian Früchtl.
The man he’s hoping to replace, Manuel Neuer, is getting older but remains at the top of his game. His two rivals for that coveted spot of next starting keeper have seemed to remain in higher favor. After winning the 3. Liga title with FC Bayern II last season, his hopes for greater playing time led him to agreeing to a loan deal with second division side 1. FC Nürnberg.
However, the spell for him on loan has gone worse than expected. In an interview with Spox and Goal, Früchtl’s agent, Christian Rößner laid out his client’s frustrations with his tenure with FCN.
During the entire 2. Liga season, Früchtl, who expected to be the new starting keeper for Nürnberg, has not made a single appearance in goal. Rößner says this was the opposite of what each side wanted:
“Of course we assumed that he could become number one. Otherwise he would not have changed,” said Rößner. “That was a different idea from all sides in the summer.”
Rößner added that there were many other opportunities for Fruchtl that would have led him away from the Allianz Arena on a more permanent basis:
“We had very, very good offers from foreign clubs where Christian could have played internationally and had a very clear promise that he would be number one,” said Rößner.
After a summer’s worth of training, Früchtl, who was brought in to be a starter, ended up playing second fiddle to vice-captain Christian Mathenia. Even now, with Nürnberg locked in a relegation battle, there have been no signs from manager Robert Clauss that the keepers would be swapped.
All signs from Früchtl’s camp point to a return to Bayern from his loan with a longer stay in Nürnberg seeming more impossible by the day. When he returns, he will be entering the final year of his contract with Bayern. Third team keeper Ron-Thorben Hoffmann may end up leaving in the summer, with his contract set to expire in late June. Früchtl’s deal runs out in the summer of 2022, so between now and then, he will hope for more consistent starting time. If not, there will be a lot of decision making to do.
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