In the summer, Leeds United were looking for a new goalkeeper with Illan Meslier‘s future in doubt. It led us to Bayern Munich man Alexander Nubel – but he decided to join Stuttgart on loan for 23-24, instead.
Nubel, 27, was an ambitious target. He had starred at Monaco over the last two seasons on loan from Bayern, playing 97 times for the Ligue 1 side. In the summer, he returned to Bayern, his future unclear.
German magazine Kicker said Leeds made an £8m bid for Nubel. The thinking was that Meslier was going to leave Leeds and the Whites needed a new starting goalkeeper. Nubel would have been superb.
Of course, Meslier has since remained. A lot of that may have been to do with our failure in attempts to lure Nubel to Elland Road. Bayern were willing to accept the £8m fee – but Nubel was unsure about us.
Understandably so, given we are in the Championship and he’d just been on loan at one of the biggest clubs in France. He decided to join Stuttgart on loan for 23-24, allowing him to remain in the top tier.
Alexander Nubel starring for Stuttgart since £8m Leeds bid
He has starred for Stuttgart so far. He has made 11 outings for the German club so far, playing in every game Stuttgart have had this season. They are in immense form, winning nine – losing only two games.
Nubel himself has kept six clean sheets in those 11 games, an incredible tally – conceding only 11. His record made to look a whole lot worse, after a 5-1 loss to Leipzig. Nubel is starring at Stuttgart.
Of course, we kept Meslier so it would be wrong to say we missed out in failing to get Nubel over the line. But had we signed Nubel, perhaps Leeds would have pushed Meslier harder towards an exit.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
