When Jürgen Klopp steps in front of the cameras on 17 September to announce his first Germany squad, one position will drown out all others. The armband can wait. The back four can wait. The real debate sits between the posts.
Who follows Manuel Neuer?
For Thomas Helmer, European champion in 1996 and long-time Bayern defender, the current answer stands in Istanbul.
Nübel makes his move
"Looking at it right now: Nübel, who is playing sensationally in Istanbul and simply has match practice, is certainly a candidate," Helmer told Sport1. No hesitation. No soft landing. Match rhythm first, reputation second.
Alexander Nübel has turned his Besiktas loan into a statement. Six clean sheets in his first nine competitive games since leaving Bayern Munich have pushed him from fringe figure to serious contender in the national-team debate. He is playing, he is winning, he is visible. All the things a modern No. 1 must be.
Yet even Helmer, as clear as he sounds on Nübel’s form, refuses to call the race early. The succession to Neuer, he insists, remains a "big question."
And it is. Neuer’s shadow still stretches across German goalkeeping.
Life after Neuer
Neuer briefly reclaimed his place for the 2026 World Cup push, edging out Oliver Baumann to return as Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper. That short-term comeback restored the old order, one last time. Now it is over. Neuer has retired from the national team for good.
The vacancy is real. The debate is wide open.
Many pundits have already pushed a different Bayern name to the front: Jonas Urbig. The young keeper travelled to the World Cup as a training goalkeeper, working daily alongside Neuer, Baumann and Nübel, even if he never made the official squad list. Inside circles, that experience matters. It marks him out as the man Bayern see as Neuer’s heir.
Outside, not everyone is convinced.
Helmer’s warning on Urbig
Helmer looks at Urbig’s situation under Vincent Kompany and sees a problem that no amount of hype can fix.
"The question is how much playing time he will really get under Vincent Kompany," he said. It is a simple point, but a brutal one. So far, the answer is thin: just one cup game against Osnabrück. Nothing more substantial. Nothing that screams “ready to lead a national team”.
"Just one cup game against Osnabrück for now – and I don't mean that disrespectfully at all – certainly won't be enough," Helmer added.
Bayern have been clear in their messaging: Urbig should grow in Neuer’s slipstream, collect minutes where he can, learn from the best. A sensible club plan. A long-term investment.
Helmer draws a hard line between that and the reality of the national team.
"In the goalkeeping position, you need someone who plays all the time," he said. Not a prospect. Not a promise. A goalkeeper who lives the pressure every three days.
Door opening for a familiar face?
That demand for permanent action points straight back to players like Nübel, thriving as a starter abroad. It also reopens the conversation about established names such as Marc-André ter Stegen, whose club status and experience keep him close to any discussion about Germany’s goal.
Klopp’s first squad will not just reveal his preferred keeper. It will reveal what he values most in the post-Neuer era: the form of Nübel, the potential of Urbig, or the weight of experience carried by a veteran ready to return.
The gloves are there to be claimed. Who is brave enough – and busy enough – to take them?
