Red Bull Salzburg has a luxury problem in the goalkeeper position. Keeper Nico Mantl is currently looking through his fingers. However, the 21-year-old will fight for his place in the Salzburg goal with first-choice goalkeeper Philipp Köhn and will wait for minutes to play in the second half of the season.

While Mantl enjoys an excellent reputation among scouts in the German Bundesliga, he currently doesn’t have enough minutes in Salzburg to play in the Bundesliga. Only in the 3-1 away win against SK Sturm on the first day of the game was Mantl in the Bulls’ goal.

Mantl was only allowed to prove himself in the ÖFB Cup, in highlight games in the Champions League he watched the strong performances of his competitor Philipp Köhn from the bench.

Mantl came to Salzburg from Unterhaching in January last year with different expectations. The Austrian series champions prevent around two million euros for the German U21 national goalkeeper on the table – including a contract until 2025. The round of 16 in the premier class has never paid more for a keeper.

“I’ve felt very comfortable here since my move. The club and the environment are perfect for my further development,” says Mantl in an interview SPOX back. He made a conscious decision to move to Salzburg and turned his back on VfL Wolfsburg.

Nico Mantl: “My goal is number 1”

For a long time the Munich player had to give way to Cican Stankovic in the pre-season, and Mantl only played the Austrian out of goal on the last two matchdays. In the summer, Stankovic said goodbye to Athens, the place in the Salzburg gate became vacant. After minutes of play at the start of the season, he lost his regular place to Köhn. That hasn’t changed to this day.

“Of course I want to be on the pitch with the team as often as possible,” he nibbles at the unexpected game time. But Mantl doesn’t want to give up – despite inquiries from Germany in January.

“If, like me, you give 100 percent in every training session, then of course you want to play. I will continue to present myself to the coaching team in the best possible way,” said Mantl. “I accepted the competition here from the start. I’ve evolved and I know what I can do. My teammates know that too. My goal is to be number one here in Salzburg.”

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