Daily Schmankerl: Toni Kroos to extend with Real Madrid; Are Gareth Bale and Bayern Munich a fit?; Matthijs de Ligt likes Bayern posts; Borussia Dortmund’s big plans; and MORE!

Kroos to stay put (kicker)

Germany international and Real Madrid star Toni Kroos will be staying in Spain until at least 2023 as the 29-year-old is extending his contract with Los Blancos.

Real Madrid has extended its contract with Toni Kroos. The new contract will run until June 30, 2023, twelve months longer than the previous one. Kroos has been playing for the Royals since 2014.

There will be a press conference in Madrid (today). Coach Zinedine Zidane, after a weak Blancos season, continues to rely on his German midfielder with only third place in La Liga and 19 points behind FC Barcelona.

Bale-to-Bayern still being bandied about (Daily Mail)

Zinedine Zidane is not a fan of Gareth Bale. In fact, the Real Madrid manager left Bale on the bench for the entirety of Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Real Betis.

Having just released club legends Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, the forward area is a position that Bayern could strengthen. However, it is unlikely that they will plump for Bale as they don’t wish to spend above £70m on a transfer - a figure way below Real’s valuation. Instead the Bundesliga champions are looking at Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.

I guess the takeaway from this situation is that should things fall apart in Bayern’s bid for Sane, Bale might be an option if — BIG IF — Los Blancos decides to eat some of Bale’s contract and lowers the price on Bale enough for other clubs to stomach.

Other teams allegedly on the list for Madrid to try and unload Bale on include Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.

ESPN had this to add:

It’s another summer of uncertainty for the Real Madrid winger, but while Zinedine Zidane is prepared to offload the Welshman, Bale’s £600,000-a-week wages are likely to scare off most clubs. Bale will be 30 in July, so this is a huge summer for the former Tottenham man, who could struggle to find a new club.

De Ligt goes to Instagram to like Bayern-related posts (@Bayern_mania)

Ajax captain and future global powerhouse Matthijs de Ligt took to Instagram to like some Bayern-related posts. Hmmm...

Fein’s future uncertain with Bayern (kicker)

Bayern’s Adrian Fein spent this season with 2.Bundesliga side Jahn Regensburg and will return to the Bavarians this summer. Fein’s future, however, might not necessarily be with Die Roten according to kicker.

Adrian Fein of second league club Jahn Regensburg will return to FC Bayern Munich this summer after the end of the loan. Whether the future of the 20-year-old game lies on Säbener Strasse, however, is uncertain. In his first professional season at Jahn, the six-man played 21 games and came up with two assists (kicker average score 3.23).

Pochettino is allegedly still peaking piquing Bayern’s interest (Sports Mole)

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino is rumored to be a name that still might cause Bayern to consider dumping Niko Kovac.

Bayern Munich are reportedly keen to lure Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino to the Allianz Arena. The Bavarian giants are believed to be ready to ax boss Niko Kovac, despite lifting the Bundesliga title in his first campaign at the helm. According to The Star, Bayern are long-time admirers of Pochettino but they always believed he was destined for the Real Madrid or Manchester United job.

With neither of those positions currently vacant, however, it is claimed that the German champions may make an approach for the 47-year-old this summer. Bayern are said to have been encouraged in their pursuit of Pochettino by the comments he made last week when admitting that he may be tempted to quit Spurs at the end of the campaign.

Allegri linked to Bayern and others (Daily Mail)

Former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has no desire to sit on the sidelines after being dumped by The Old Lady.

Departing Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says he isn’t interested in taking a sabbatical in comments that will put some of Europe’s elite clubs on alert. Allegri signed off after five seasons with the Italian club by lifting the Serie A championship for the fifth time and then said he is already looking for his next challenge. The 51-year-old, whose departure with one year remaining on his contract was announced by Juventus on Friday, has been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

While Allegri has an impressive resume, I am not sure this would be acceptable for even the most staunch #KovacOut supporters.

The future for Sanches might not be in Munich (kicker)

Renato Sanches made an appearance against Eintracht Frankfurt and also scored a goal, but the 21-year-old desperately wants playing time, which is not going to be easy to come by in Munich’s crowded midfield.

Renato Sanches (21, contract until 2021) is about to leave FC Bayern. The Portuguese himself said this weekend about his future: “I don’t know, anything is possible. I’m young, want and need to play more. If you don’t, you won’t feel good.” In Munich, the competition is not getting any smaller - Corentin Tolisso is fully available again after his cruciate ligament rupture.

Dortmund’s offseason plans (GetFootballNewsGermany.com)

Borussia Dortmund’s master plan to bring Hoffenheim’s Nico Schulz, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Thorgan Hazard, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Julian Brandt could be moving forward.

Borussia Dortmund are expected to complete the signings of Nico Schulz (Hoffenheim) and Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Mönchengladbach) imminently, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung. It was reported by Bild last week that BVB had agreed a €25 million fee with Hoffenheim to bring Schulz to the Westfalenstadion while Belgium international Hazard practically confirmed his arrival following Gladbach’s final game on Saturday.

SZ’s report also suggests that Borussia Dortmund are hopeful of signing 23-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Julian Brandt. A trio of clubs (Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Atlético Madrid have held talks with representatives of Brandt while kicker reported last week that the Germany international has a €25m release clause.

While Schulz and Hazard seem like done deals, Brandt is an interesting case. The 23-year-old Germany international helped Leverkusen garner a Champions League position and might be inclined to stay another season with Die Werkself’s exciting young core.

Looking to catch-up on the Bundesliga action from the weekend? I’ve got you covered (The Barrel)

For a capsule-style recap of the Bundesliga’s weekend fixtures, just click here.