After other players had departed the club, Istra 1961 received an offer for 23-year-old Croatian goalkeeper Franko Kolić from his former Danish club, SønderjyskE. The bid, which was brought by agent Marin Skender, was for between 400,000 and 500,000 euros, but Istra considered the amount to be too small. Kolić, who joined Istra in January 2025, has a contract until June 2027 and a current Transfermarkt market value of €500k. He has been capped four times for the Croatia U21 national team.