Battle for Borussia Mönchengladbach starting keeper position rages on | OneFootball

The battle for Borussia Mönchengladbach’s no. 1 goalkeeping spot remains very much open. The Bundesliga outfit – after loaning out Jan Olschowsky and re-signing Tobias Sippel earlier this month – carry four keepers on the squad. Whether squad captain Jonas Omlin or previous no. 1 Moritz Nicolas will start between the sticks this season remains to be seen.

Omlin, specifically acquired to replace the departed Yann Sommer in January 2023, still retains the captain’s armband accorded to him in the summer of 2023. It was none other than current Gladbach head coach Gerardo Seoane who selected Omlin to inherit the role of skipper from the departed Lars Stindl.

An injury to Omlin early in the 2023/24 campaign saw Nicolas pick up 24 league starts between September of 2023 and March of 2024. Omlin returned to reprise his no 1 role between matchdays 27 and 30. Another injury setback gave Nicolas three more starts. Omlin started the final two matches the season.

Omlin found himself in the “deja vu zone” once again at the beginning of the 2024/25 season. Once again, Omlin succumbed to injury after the third matchday of the season. Nicolas returned to tend to the net in September 2024.

This time, Seoane no longer considered Omlin an option when his captain was once again fit in November of 2024. Nicolas had clearly displaced the skipper. The insane story nevertheless refused to come to a tidy conclusion.

Nicolas got hurt on matchday 22 in February of 2025. In the very next match, Omlin got thrown off the pitch on a straight red card. Sippel found himself unexpectedly thrust into action when he thought his Bundesliga career had long ended.

Seoane began tapping 18-year-old Tiago Pereira Cardoso for starts under the goal frame. The young Luxembourg international ended up earning five Bundesliga starts last spring after Omlin (yet again) had to move to the bench with injury.

Omlin ultimately recovered and started the final five fixtures of the season. Seoane alternated between Omlin and Nicolas during the first two Gladbach friendlies of the preseason. On Saturday against Nürnberg, however, Omlin got the chance to go the full 90 minutes.

“Nothing has been decided yet,” Seoane remarked after yesterday’s friendly. “Both goalkeepers have performed well in the friendly matches so far. We said in the summer that we want to embrace competition and that it will be a fresh start for everyone. Everyone has the chance to show what they can do.

“We know we have two sensational goalkeepers,” Seoane continued. “They have two different profiles, which we consider ourselves very fortunate to have. Jonas is consistent and stable after a difficult season. Mo has found his form again very quickly after a long injury layoff. He’s not at his best yet, but he’s already in very good shape.”

Gladbach have two more friendlies scheduled before the traditional German “soft opening” Round One Pokal match on August 17th. Ideally, Seoane should have the matter sorted out when the foals face Brentford in London on August 8th.

It’s likely that neither Omlin nor Nicolas will be keen to warm the bench. A sale of one of the two keepers must then be organized before the end of the transfer window.

GGFN | Peter Weis