Where does the versatile defender fit in at Bayern Munich?
With the news that Eric Dier will be leaving Bayern Munich in favor of AS Monaco next season, many fans immediately started to assess what the center-back situation might look like for 2025/26.
With Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae expected back at the moment***, Josip Stanišić is being pegged (we swear it is a safe link) as the third center-back in the mix, with Hiroki Itō as the fourth option. The problem, though, is that Stanišić is the team’s best right-back (though Vincent Kompany prefers Konrad Laimer in the role) and Itō will be needed to fill the void at left-back until Alphonso Davies returns from his ACL injury.
The club could get aggressive in the transfer market to get a new center-back or it could rely upon oft-injured defender Tarek Buchmann (what a gamble that would be), but — for now — it looks like Stanišić will be “the man.”
is that the right move? what role should Stanišić have on the squad for 2025/26 — center-back, right-back, or be super-sub? Tell us in the comments below.
***It should also be noted that while the odds are long, neither Upamecano, nor Min-jae are a certainty to return. Upamecano is engaged in contract talks, which have not been completely smooth, while Min-jae’s performance this season has left some doubt about his ability to fill the role that the team needs.
Looking for more thoughts and discussion on Bayern Munich’s performance over the weekend against Mainz and where things stand in the Bundesliga? What about some chatter on whether or not bringing Leroy Sané back is a good idea? Finally, we hit on how Tom Bischof might fit in at Bayern Munich and whether or not that undermines the work being done on Bayern Munich’s campus. You can get all of that and more on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
