Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has offered Renato Sanches hope of reviving his faltering Bayern Munich career after the Portugal youngster impressed in a friendly against Chelsea.
Sanches, signed from Benfica last year for an initial fee of €35million, had appeared likely to leave the Allianz Arena after struggling badly for playing time in 2016-17.
AC Milan had been mentioned as one possible destination for the 19-year-old midfielder, although the Serie A side's chief executive Marco Fassone has claimed they are unable to meet Bayern's demands for Sanches.
He completed 90 minutes and demonstrated his potential value in a 3-2 International Champions Cup win over the Premier League champions in Singapore on Tuesday.
And executive chairman Rummenigge has indicated Sanches may have earned a stay of execution.
"We would send him out on loan for a maximum [of] one year because we are convinced he can become a good and useful Bayern player," Rummenigge told a news conference in Singapore.
"He played magnificently, you could see after the game how happy he was to make a breakthrough.
"I had a long talk with Renato and this is a story with an open ending. He does not necessarily want to leave, he wants to play. We all share this opinion."
