Bayern Munich’s talismanic goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer has been with the Bavarians since 2011, winning every trophy possible.
However, after suffering another injury in Bayern’s 3-0 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen that has ruled him out for the “forseeable future” – questions are again being asked about Bayern’s future without him.
This isn’t the first long-term injury Neuer has suffered. In December 2022, he broke his leg during a skiing trip, forcing Bayern into an emergency signing of Yann Sommer.
Now 38-years-old, the same age his predecessor Oliver Kahn retired, injured once more, and with retirement on the horizon, who will fill Manuel Neuer’s boots (and gloves) at Bayern?
Bart Verbruggen
The Brighton stopper seems to be at the top of Vincent Kompany‘s rumoured wish-list going forward,having worked with him at Anderlecht. Kompany is also rumoured to have tried to sign the Dutchman during his time at Burnley too.
At just 22 years old, he has established himself at Brighton, replacing Jason Steele as first-choice keeper and this season has kept seven clean sheets in 28 games as the Seagulls push for European football.
Verbruggen has also earned 18 senior international caps for the Netherlands and was his country’s first-choice goalkeeper at Euro 2024. At the tournament, he kept two clean sheets in six games helping his nation progress to the semi-finals before being beaten by England, thanks to a late Ollie Watkins winner.
Bayern’s interest in Verbruggen seems long-standing thanks to their manager. It wouldn’t be a massive surprise if a summer transfer saga were to play out. It would also benefit the Bavarians to have both Neuer and Verbruggen on the books so that the Dutchman had a chance to find his feet, mature and adapt to the Bundesliga.
Alexander Nubel
The natural apprentice to Manuel Neuer is Alexander Nubel.
Another former Schalke keeper that left the club at the end of his contract to sign for the biggest team in Germany. Nubel was signed in 2020 with an eye on the future and the potential winding down of Neuer’s career, but the Master wasn’t about to give up his spot.
Nubel was sent to French side Monaco on loan to gain first-team football experience where he started every single Ligue 1 match across his two seasons. He then returned to the Bundesliga with a loan to VFB Stuttgart in 2023, where he will remain until the summer of 2026, conveniently when Neuer’s new contract also ends.
It is at Stuttgart where Nubel has impressed most. Last season he kept the second-most clean sheets in the league (11) as the Swabians finished runners-up behind runaway league winners Bayer Leverkusen. Neuer only managed to record seven, having played only 23 of Bayern’s 34 matches due to injuries.
Nubel also made his senior national team debut for Germany last summer, and with Ter Stegen and Bauman injured, he will likely be Germany’s main man for the next international break.
Despite his growth, Nübel still has occasional errors in decision-making. In a recent game against his parent club, a poor pass to Angelo Stiller led to Leon Goretzka’s goal. He was also caught out after rushing off his line against Kingsley Coman, allowing an easy goal.
Mistakes like that at Bayern, especially in Neuer’s shadow, wouldn’t be tolerated.
For Nubel, the summer of 2026 will be a make or break for his Bayern career. It’s been five years since he signed for the Bavarians and he has just one appearance for his parent club. He will be hoping that he won’t have to wait another five years to make another appearance for Bayern.
Jonas Urbig
The 21-year-old came on for the injured Neuer in the 59th minute during the Champions League match against Leverkusen and will likely start the reverse fixture.
The game was Urbig’s debut having been signed just last January from FC Koln and he will no doubt be feeling the pressure of filling Neuer’s gloves as the Bavarians seek to win back the Bundesliga title and push into the latter stages of the Champions League.
The Germany-under 21 international had impressed during loan spells at Regensburg and Greuther Furth in the second division of German football. At the latter, he kept 11 clean sheets across 33 Bundesliga.2 appearances and between October and December 2023, he went over 600 minutes without conceding.
This earned him the number one role at Koln at the start of this season where he played 10 games, keeping two clean sheets before his move to Bayern. A keen shot-stopper and also talented with his distribution, Urbig looks to be a modern incarnation of Neuer.
It is reported that a loan move away from Bayern is unlikely as Urbig becomes Neuer’s new apprentice.
Bayern’s Sporting Director Christoph Freund may have even given away the club’s plan for Urbig to be Neuer’s successor when he described the young keeper as: “one of the most promising young goalkeepers in German football, very ambitious and has massive potential.”
Either way, it will likely be Urbig who plays the rest of the season out for Bayern, picking up vital experience.
Gregor Kobel
Transfers between rivals Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are not uncommon. Mats Hummels, Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski have all swapped the Yellow Wall for Bavarian Red in the past meaning that this transfer isn’t off the cards completely.
The 27-year-old Swiss keeper has been linked with Bayern for some time, thanks to his standout performances for Dortmund.
During Dortmund’s title push season of 2022/23, Kobel had a miraculous 75% save percentage and he still looks like the backbone of the Dortmund side.
However this season Dortmund have struggled, manager/ex-player Nuri Sahin was sacked in January and the side currently sits 10th in the Bundesliga, meaning they may miss out on European football next season. However, there is hope as the team remains in the Champions League with a return tie against French side Lille to come.
Given their struggles and the narrow title-race loss in 22/23, Kobel is said to be frustrated with his lack of development in Dortmund and wants a move to a club that regularly wins trophies according to Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.
He wouldn’t be the first Dortmund player to make the swap to Bayern for silverware, and I’m certain he wouldn’t be the last.
Alisson Becker
Perhaps the most unlikely on the list but still a possibility.
Alisson showed his quality in Liverpool’s ‘smash and grab‘ 1-0 win over PSG last night in the Champions League. The Brazilian was named man of the match after making nine saves in a performance he labelled as the “best of his life“.
Despite his long-term quality, there are question marks over the goalkeeping position at Liverpool next season with the arrival of Giorgi Mamardashvili putting pressure on manager Arne Slot. With three quality choices, Alisson, Mamardashvili and Caoimhin Kelleher, all quite rightly think they should be the first choice for the Liverpool role.
Alisson perhaps has the least to prove and may be keen to try his hand in another European league with another giant of the continental game e.g. Bayern. The German side would also be a good fit for the talented keeper who, like Neuer, is a keen sweeper-keeper and regularly isn’t found solely in his area.
Signing Alisson for a season or two whilst Neuer recovers and Urbig develops would be an intelligent stopgap for Bayern, especially if they are to prioritise the development of Urbig who would learn a lot from two of the best keepers in world football for the past decade.
It would then allow Alisson to move back to Brazil in a few years’ time to wind down his career, something he has regularly signposted.
If Alisson does stay at Liverpool, his understudy Kelleher would also be a good option and has also voiced his eagerness at first-team football. With a heavily English-speaking contingent now at Bayern, Kelleher would be a good fit too.