Lukas Hradecky's name has circulated persistently around Eintracht Frankfurt for weeks, yet the club's sporting director says the Finnish goalkeeper is not under consideration. Kaua Santos remains the intended starter for the new Bundesliga season.
Markus Krösche said at the start of the week that he saw no reason for changes between the club's contracted pair, Santos and Michael Zetterer. He described the situation as not a topic right now and said his confidence in Santos was 100 percent as high as it was a year ago.
Hradecky, 36, is currently preparing for the season with AS Monaco, where he has been training and playing pre-season friendlies, most recently against Sporting Lisbon, with a match against Cercle Bruges scheduled for Friday.
A Small Loophole
While German newspaper Bild reported that a goalkeeper decision in favour of Santos had been made, a degree of uncertainty remains. Both Krösche and head coach Adi Hütter are willing to start the season with Santos as number one and want to give him the opportunity, but the idea that a different goalkeeper combination might be more effective has not been entirely ruled out.
The Santos-Zetterer pairing proved unhelpful to both players during the previous season, according to the report. Zetterer was linked with a return to Bremen and a potential transfer to VfL Wolfsburg earlier this summer, and replacing him remains an option, though more pressing personnel matters are said to take priority at the club.
Tests Ahead for Santos
Santos, 23, performed solidly during Frankfurt's training camp in Grassau, making several difficult stops and communicating more loudly with teammates than he had previously, the report noted. He had little to do in a pre-season match against Trabzonspor.
Eintracht face third-division side Waldhof Mannheim on Saturday before a fixture the following week against Premier League promoted club Hull City, matches that could offer clearer evidence of Santos's readiness. Hütter has not yet officially confirmed Santos as first choice.
