He is now regarded as a "model example": FC Bayern have apparently declared the former loan player to be off-limits internally

According to consistent reports, Juventus Turin, for example, are said to have seriously considered signing the Croatian international last summer, at which point the record champions reportedly set a price tag of 50 million euros for Stanisic. At least, that is what Fabrizio Romano claimed last September. 

To make the offer more attractive, Munich are said to have subsequently brought Sacha Boey – who has since returned to Galatasaray – into the mix as a swap deal. However, this offer was also reportedly rejected in Turin. Despite everything, Stanisic remains a candidate in Juve’s future plans, Romano claimed at the time. Yet the venture is now likely to prove impossible for the Old Lady.

On the one hand, the Munich-born player, whose contract runs until 2029, has no desire to leave. On the other hand, alongside Lennart Karl and Aleksandar Pavlovic, he is now seen within the club as a “prime example” of how, even at the highly ambitious record champions, talents from the club’s own youth academy can make the leap to the first team.

To achieve this, however, Stanisic had taken a slight detour. He spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen and even made Bundesliga history with the Werkself as unbeaten champions. In Leverkusen, the now 25-year-old blossomed under then-manager Xabi Alonso, particularly in the second half of the season, becoming a regular starter and making a total of 38 appearances, in which he scored four goals and provided six assists.

This season, Stanisic is on course to significantly surpass that tally. He currently has three goals and six assists from 28 competitive matches. Even a knee injury at the start of the season and a ligament injury in his ankle in January failed to throw him off his stride. For manager Vincent Kompany, he is currently indispensable, not least due to Alphonso Davies’ latest absence.

“Stani needed a bit of time. Now he’s here and has played his way into an important role,” said Kompany after the 1-1 draw against Stanisic’s former club Leverkusen last weekend. What has been particularly striking in recent weeks regarding Stanisic’s impressive development is how often the nominal right-back gets involved in the attack.

In Munich, Stanisic was long regarded as a rather defence-oriented full-back; in his youth, he played a lot in central defence. However, thanks to Kompany’s bold system, he is reinventing himself this season. This has not gone unnoticed by the FCB management. Sporting director Christoph Freund, for instance, considers Stanisic’s development to be “really good”. "He’s getting better and better on the ball, is increasingly confident going forward, and is very active."