[Trending News] Does Julian Nagelsmann soon have to rely on this Bundesliga goalkeeper?

Moritz Nicolas attracts more and more looks. Will Borussia Mönchengladbach's goalkeeper soon become interesting for the national team?

Mönchengladbach – The development of Moritz Nicolas is often told under fans of Borussia Mönchengladbach despite the melancholy about Jonas Omlin's injury misery.

The Gladbach talent is increasing to the tram goalkeeper

The 27-year-old goalkeeper took over the regular place in the Fohlen team's goal after years. Nicolas moved to the Gladbach U23 team in the summer of 2015 and was borrowed from 2019 to Union Berlin, VfL Osnabrück, Viktoria Cologne and Roda Kerkrade.

After returning in the summer of 2023, he was intended as a replacement for Omlin, which, however, failed due to a shoulder injury. Nicolas developed into a reliable goalkeeper, but first had to let Omlin go ahead, who started the 2024/25 season with the captain's armband.

Nicolas has now made up for this lead and has developed an advantage over his Swiss competitor, who was again injured in September 2024. Trainer Gerardo Seoane takes harder in his second season and consistently relies on Nicolas as a regular keeper.

Nicolas fits in the foreground in Gladbach

In the 2-1 success against 1899 Hoffenheim on December 21, Nicolas showed an outstanding performance and almost sossed victory. He also convinced at the start of the year against FC Bayern (0: 1) on January 11th, whereby only Harry Kane defeated him with a penalty.

Last Saturday against Eintracht Frankfurt (1-1), Nicolas showed his class again when he steered a deflected shot by Hugo Larsson to the crossbar (31st) and after the break against Can Uzun (67.) .

Will Nicolas be an issue for the German national team? After the resignation of Manuel Neuer last summer, the team actually found their number one, but Marc-André Ter Stegen was plagued several times by injuries.

First, from November 2023 to February 2024, Ter Stegen, who was trained in the foal stable and mastered the leap into the professional area at Borussia. A patella tendon tear followed in September.

Nagelsmann has to experiment several times because Oliver Baumann is in the relegation battle with 1899 Hoffenheim and also fails with a foot injury, Alexander Nübel (VfB Stuttgart) no longer displays the sovereignty of the previous season and has been in the DFB squad since November 2023 since November 2023 missing.

In which areas of Nicolas convinced

Nicolas impresses with a parade quota of 73.1 percent, which means fourth place in the Bundesliga comparison. Trapp runs in this category (76.5 percent, first place), while Nübel (65.1 percent, tenth) and Baumann (61.9 percent, place twelve) are located in the lower half.

In addition, the 27-year-old improves in the game with the ball. Nicolas is often involved in the Gladbach development game with 894 ball contacts (eighth place in the league ranking). His pass rate in his own half is 91.6 percent (fifth place in comparison), and the average pass length of 25.8 meters (fifth place in comparison) also speaks for his good integration.

Nicolas also convinces with long passes, which is also related to the strengths of Tim Kleindienst, who regularly wins the duel with his opponent. Nicolas has the second best pass rate in passes in the opposing half (47.1 percent) and is only behind Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern, 52.6 percent).

A disadvantage? Nicolas is not a penalty expert

In terms of tournaments, however, statistics are also important, in which Nicolas remains significantly behind the competition. The Gladbach goalkeeper did not hold one of five penalties in the Bundesliga this season. For comparison: Trapp parried two out of two penalties, Baumann at least two out of four penalty jets and Nübel one of two penalty.

If you add the balance of last season, Nicolas even parried none of nine penalty. Of course, goalkeepers have a disadvantage, since the probability of a gate is higher than for a rescue act by the keeper. Nevertheless, the duel from the point is an ability that Nicolas has to improve in addition to the further game with the ball.