Augsburg director backs Noahkai Banks to become one of the best centre-backs | OneFootball

Augsburg sporting director Benjamin Weber has hailed 19-year-old US-German defender Noahkai Banks and says the centre-back’s potential remains high, despite a late-season drop in minutes. He had been a regular for much of 2025/26.

“He has big, big potential. He’s really strong physically and a very, very good player. He has all the skills you need to become one of the best centre-backs,” Weber said, speaking to BuLi News.

With Banks under contract until 2029, Weber wants Augsburg to guide his next steps. “It’s good that he’s with us at the moment because we’ve followed him and prepared him for the next steps,” he said.

Banks’ dual nationality drew focus in 2025/26 as he weighed the United States against Germany. He was long viewed as a candidate for the United States World Cup squad, but missed out after admitting he was “very torn” over his choice.

Asked whether that debate affected his second-half displays, Weber declined to go into detail.

“It’s a private thing. Today, it’s normal to have two or maybe three passports, and the national teams have become more and more like clubs,” he said. “Not everybody is singing the national hymn. Agents are focusing on the national teams as well. It’s so different compared to maybe 15 or 20 years ago.”

Time will tell which country he represents. Born in Hawaii and raised mostly in Germany, Banks has 12 United States youth caps and earned a senior call-up in September 2025, but did not debut.

Source: BuLi News