Things could move quickly now: SC Freiburg has already identified a successor for the goalkeeper position even before Noah Atubolu’s departure is finalized. Bremen’s Mio Backhaus is worth a new transfer record to the Europa League finalist.
There had already been indications that Mio Backhaus was the favorite of Freiburg’s management. Sporting directors Jochen Saier and Klemens Hartenbach have been searching for a new goalkeeper for some time, as they received a clear signal from Noah Atubolu’s agency some time ago that the Freiburg homegrown talent was looking to leave after three years as the first-team’s starting goalkeeper.
Where Atubolu will end up is still unclear. The agreement was that Freiburg’s number one would first focus entirely on the season finale for Julian Schuster’s team, culminating in the Europa League final, before plans for the future gain momentum.
In the showdown against Aston Villa, Atubolu couldn’t save his team; the difference in performance was simply too great, and Villa’s Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia were left too unmarked due to poor defensive positioning to score the first two goals. Atubolu also couldn’t be blamed for Morgan Rogers’ third goal.
Twelve million euros—plus bonuses
Backhaus likely watched the game on TV from somewhere. Besides general interest, he probably also wanted to observe his future teammates. As things stand, Backhaus is set to join captain Christian Günter and the rest of the squad in the Conference League playoffs in August—provided nothing goes wrong in the final stretch of this transfer, which is still awaiting final approval.
The base transfer fee is reportedly around 12 million euros, and performance-based bonuses are to be agreed upon with Werder. The SC had previously invested a record 10 million euros in midfielder Baptiste Santamaria in 2020.
U-21 national team goalkeeper Backhaus would be playing in European competition for the first time with the club and hopes to find excellent conditions for his further development in Freiburg. This comes as no surprise when looking at the careers of the SC’s starting goalkeepers in recent years. Starting with current national team goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, who moved to Hoffenheim in 2014 after training and his first professional years at SC. Roman Bürki earned a spot at Borussia Dortmund during the 2014–15 season. Alexander Schwolow was worth seven million euros to Hertha BSC in 2020. Even though the Freiburg homegrown talent experienced a career setback afterward, he recently came close to winning the Scottish championship with Heart of Midlothian. And Mark Flekken brought in a 13 million euro transfer fee from Brentford in 2023, then earned a move to Leverkusen after two strong years in England.