"I've always said I want to stay at VfB. I get on really well with the coach. Nothing has changed in my head," Demirović said in early August, addressing the transfer speculation that has surrounded him for much of the summer.
Since then, VfB Stuttgart have invested €25 million in Dzenan Pejcinović from Wolfsburg, adding significant competition up front for a forward who has become one of the club's most reliable performers since arriving from Augsburg in 2024.
The 21-year-old joins Demirović and Deniz Undav in what is shaping up to be a genuinely three-way rotation, with Pejcinović having agreed a long-term contract through to 2031 and arriving with a growing reputation of his own after representing Germany at every youth level from Under-16 upward.
In recent weeks, Demirović had already been linked with Juventus, Leeds United and Fenerbahçe, and Bild now reports interest from Eintracht Frankfurt too, who are searching for an experienced striker of their own.
The paper puts a potential fee at around €20 million, with Demirović's €3.5 million salary said to be manageable for Frankfurt within their budget; his contract in Stuttgart runs until 2028. Frankfurt are also said to be looking for an experienced centre-back as part of the same recruitment push.
Demirović, who plays international football for Bosnia and Herzegovina despite being born in Germany, has scored 27 goals and added six assists in 59 Bundesliga appearances for Stuttgart since his move from Augsburg, form that has kept him firmly in the picture domestically even as Pejcinović's arrival raises the stakes for regular game time.
Whether that competition changes his stated preference to stay in the Ländle remains to be seen, but the presence of a genuine alternative destination in Frankfurt adds a new layer to a situation that, as of early August, Demirović insisted had not shifted in his own mind at all.
Stuttgart face a demanding campaign across three competitions this season, including a return to the Champions League, and head coach Sebastian Hoeness has been vocal about wanting to add depth rather than lose it from his squad.
Whatever happens with Demirović, the club's business this window suggests they are building for a squad capable of rotating through a genuinely competitive front line rather than relying on a single senior striker to shoulder the workload.