Nikolas Polster

Born in Vienna, Austria, he is the first-choice goalkeeper for Wolfsberger AC. Nikolas Polster took his first steps at SK Rapid Wien, where he completed his entire youth development before moving to LASK. After a series of loan spells, he was signed by the “Wolves” in July 2024. He has not yet made his debut for his country’s senior team, but has made numerous appearances for Austria’s youth teams.

Nikolas Polster, who has a mesomorphic build, is a goalkeeper standing 1.88 metres tall. In terms of speed of execution with his feet, the Austrian clearly stands out, both for the way he performs and for the ease with which he does so. He is quick to come off his line due to his good stride frequency, and he benefits from his ability to accelerate easily.

From a psychosocial perspective, Polster is a confident goalkeeper both with and without the ball – he is always available as a passing option and even joins the defensive line during attacking moves. He is a very communicative player and is constantly looking to organise his teammates to minimise the opposition’s attacks. He demonstrates an excellent level of concentration and courage in the number of times he manages to anticipate situations when he has to defend the back of the defensive line by coming off his position; furthermore, he remains focused on the game and is in control of everything around him.

The Austrian is a technically gifted goalkeeper: he catches the ball well; he is agile; he is flexible between the posts; he shows good composure in various game situations and is usually well positioned. Despite Wolfsberger’s difficult season, Polster went nine games without conceding a single goal. In terms of his footwork, he is a highly skilled goalkeeper, both with short and long passes – striking the right balance between precision and power.

According to the latest rumours, there are a few clubs interested in Nikolas Polster, such as Celtic FC and FC Augsburg. I believe this year is likely to be the one in which he leaves Austria after two successful years in his home country. As such, I consider that if Lukas Hornicek leaves, Polster would be an excellent replacement and a goalkeeper whose profile would appeal to Carlos Vicens at SC Braga. It would be an interesting move for the young Wolfsberger AC player, one that could catapult him to a club competing for European places in the top leagues, as well as securing a starting spot for his national team.