HSV snap up Lautern goalkeeper on a free
Hamburger SV have scored one of the 3. Bundesliga's best performers to compete for their #1 keeper position next season.
Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Matheo Raab kept 16 clean sheets last year and is considered a red-hot developmental prospect.
As was the case with some of their other key performers, 1. FC Kaiserslautern were hopeful of retaining keeper Matheo Raab ahead of their first season back in Germany's second footballing division next year. Ultimately, however, the 23-year-old rising star opted to rejoin former goalkeeping coach Sven Höh in the Hanaseatic city state of Hamburg.
Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Matheo Raab kept 16 clean sheets last year and is considered a red-hot developmental prospect.
Second-tier side Hamburger SV confirmed Raab's signing on Friday. The net-minder joins the Rot-hosen on a free transfer courtesy of his expiring contract. Raab kept an impressive 16 clean sheets in the 3. Liga last season. The cumulative match grades from German footballing magazine Kicker leave him rated as the second-best performer in the entire division.
"Sven Höh brought me to 1. FC Kaiserslautern and largely fashioned me into the person I am now," Raab noted in a statement explaining his decision, "I'm looking forward to working with him. The anticipation is huge. The club has the same goals as I do, and I want to play my part."
At present, it looks as if Raab will be competing with Daniel Heuer Fernandes for the #1 slot. There are no reports that the HSV plan to move their current #1 out of the way. Saab's new contract (through 2026) nevertheless suggests that the club remains hopeful of eventually making him the first-choice in between the sticks.
"With Matheo, we get a goalkeeper who serves as a team player," Höh noted in his own statement," He's enormously ambitious and capable of development. Our shared past renders him familiar with the goalkeeper-specific content of our program."
Moin und herzlich willkommen im Volkspark, Matheo #Raab 🔷
— Hamburger SV (@HSV) June 3, 2022
Zur Meldung 👉 https://t.co/llDhXAUvdp#nurderHSV #Raab pic.twitter.com/DlcwMhPhJy