Georgia Stanway has helped flip the tide for Bayern Munich in Germany

The most successful English player in Germany right now is at Bayern Munich and, no, it’s not Harry Kane.

Stanway joined Bayern from Manchester City in the summer of 2022. It was a move that did not come without risks. The midfielder had been with City since the age of 16 and was signing for a club that had lost five of the last six league titles to Wolfsburg.

But the tide is turning in Germany – and Stanway has played a huge role in that. Her form in the second half of this season has been phenomenal and she has stepped up at a time when her team needed her most.

But like most players who returned from last summer’s World Cup, Stanway suffered from fatigue in earlier parts of the season. England reaching the meant players had a very limited break between the tournament ending and the domestic season re-starting. Several clubs were affected, with Wolfsburg and Arsenal suffering shock exits in the Champions League qualifying stage.

Bayern themselves endured a disappointing European campaign, with the club failing to reach the knockout stage – a 1-0 defeat against Ajax before Christmas proved crucial.

But Bayern have not lost a competitive game since then. It is perhaps no coincidence that their form has coincided with Stanway playing some of her best football.

The midfielder used the winter break to recharge and has been firing on all cylinders since.

After winning the Bundesliga, Georgia Stanway is aiming for the double with Bayern Munich

‘Post World Cup, I was OK because I just wanted to keep going forward and hoping that time would be the healer,’ Stanway told DW Sports at the weekend.

‘It only hit me around December. My body and my mind were not right. I was tired the whole time, I’d never slept so much in my life. The performances I was giving weren’t up to the standard I wanted them to be.

‘I knew that the reason why I wasn’t in my A-game was because I was tired of my life. I needed to go home and needed to see my family.’

Five goals in her last five games in all competitions has demonstrated Stanway’s attacking qualities, but the midfielder also brings a lot to Bayern off the pitch. She has become a leader in that dressing room, despite only being in her second season with the club.

In addition to making an impact on the pitch, Stanway is also a leader in the dressing room

Stanway feels at home in Munich but there will be clubs considering tempting her away

Despite not being a homegrown player, Bayern’s fans have taken to Stanway as if she is one of their own. When the club released a special women’s only kit earlier this season, Stanway’s shirt was one of the best-selling.

There is a sense that Stanway is one of those players who does not always get the recognition she deserves, partly because she is not playing in England.

Her situation is different to that of Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze, who also became champions this weekend after Barcelona secured a fifth straight Liga F title. Their achievements should not be diminished, but there is an argument to say that what Stanway has done at Bayern is more impressive given Barca are and have been so dominant in Spain for the last five years.

There is no doubt Stanway, who is contracted with Bayern until 2026, feels at home in Munich but there will be clubs across Europe weighing up whether they should attempt to lure her away from Bavaria in the coming years.

For now, the midfielder is looking to stop Wolfsburg winning a 10th straight German Cup. Bayern have not lifted the trophy since 2012 and the competition has been referred to as the ‘Wolfsburg Cup’ in recent years. With Stanway in this sort of form, you would not bet against Bayern changing that on Thursday.

WARD EXIT SHOWS FEMALE BOSSES NEED MORE SUPPORT

Carla Ward will be a huge loss to the WSL and her departure from Aston Villa raises questions over whether female managers need more support. 

Ward has the potential the fill the shoes of Emma Hayes as the voice of women’s football in England, but there is clearly much that needs to change. 

Hayes raised concerns about the demands put on female managers who are also full-time mothers, like herself and Ward. The Chelsea boss believes co-head coaches, something that is common in America, is the solution. 

Carla Ward’s Aston Villa departure raises questions over the support of female managers

Hayes and Ward’s departures means West Ham boss Rehanne Skinner and Laura Kaminski, who will come into the WSL with Crystal Palace next season, are currently the only full-time female managers in the top flight. 

Hayes is likely to be replaced by Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor while Leicester currently have Jennifer Foster as interim boss, but the lack of female managers is certainly something that needs to be addressed when the FA hands over the top two leagues to a new company this summer.

DEPARTING HAYES DESERVED A BETTER TRIBUTE

I was not the only person who made the dash from Stamford Bridge to Kingsmeadow on Sunday to watch Emma Hayes’ last home game as Chelsea manager. 

Barbara Charone, a member of the club’s board, made the same 8.6 mile journey across London and was treated to a further eight goals after the men managed five against West Ham. 

However, it was disappointing that Charone and David Barnard were the only board representatives at Hayes’ final home game. Hayes was given a fitting tribute from Mauricio Pochettino in his programme notes and she deserved more from those at the top of the club on Sunday.

It was disappointing that there weren’t more board members at Emma Hayes’ final home game

BOURNEMOUTH’S FRUSTRATION HIGHLIGHTS PROMOTION PROBLEM

Bournemouth missed on promotion to the WSL despite being unbeaten as Exeter went up

Last week I raised the issue of having just one team promoted and one team relegated from the Championship and WSL but the lack of movement between leagues is also an issue that exists further down the pyramid. Bournemouth enjoyed an unbeaten season, winning 19 of their 22 games and drawing three – but it was still not enough to get promoted. They lost out to Exeter, who won 20 and drew two.