Bayern Munich goalie Alexander Nubel set for a medical with AS Monaco, Sven Ulreich to replace him

Alexander Nubel has long been linked with a potential move to AS Monaco to reunite with Niko Kovac. His agent, Stefan Becks, has been pushing for a loan move away from Bayern Munich since Nubel only made a total of four appearances last season and when he had joined from Schalke, there was a stipulation in the contract that said he would get at least ten matches at Bayern.

Now, per Sport1’s Florian Plettenberg, it looks like a two-year loan deal with Monaco is soon to be officially announced, pending a successful medical.

As recently as last week, Plettenberg had confirmed on his “Meine Bayern Woche” podcast that fellow Ligue 1 side Lille was also in the running to try to sign Nubel, but Monaco has won out in the end. Kovac and Monaco were also eyeing Borussia Dortmund’s Roman Burki as a potential fallback option if Nubel did not pan out. Kovac’s influence on the squad planning and selection is clearly evident given that Nubel and Burki were the top two targets for this summer. With his contract situation, Nubel was always going to be the more likely option for Kovac and Monaco.

Per Fabrizio Romano, Nubel will sign a two-year loan deal with no option to buy once his medicals are completed. He also added that AFC Ajax had been contacted by Monaco regarding keeper André Onana, but a move was not able to be agreed upon by all parties.

Months ago, Nubel had also been linked with Union Berlin, in what could’ve been a potential swap deal for Bayern, having Loris Karius join as a backup for Manuel Neuer, but Stefan Becks had been pretty quick to downplay those rumors. Union Berlin also remained tight-lipped in that regard.

For Nubel, Monaco, with a Kovac reunion, was always going to be the best option. Kovac knows him relatively well even though he didn’t officially become a Bayern player until after Kovac had been sacked. He had agreed to join Bayern prior to Hansi Flick taking charge of the club, so discussions with Kovac might very well have suggested that Nubel was going to get a decent amount of chances for Bayern - far more than he actually wound up getting.

It’s Goalkeeping Musical Chairs!

To add to the goalkeeping transfer news at FC Bayern, it’s now being reported that Sven Ulreich will be making a return to the club. Per Plettenberg, he will be signing a two-year contract to serve as Neuer’s backup since Nubel is on his way to Monaco. Ulreich will be returning from his brief tenure with Hamburg SV in the 2. Bundesliga where he made a total of 32 appearances this past season.