Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich to throw Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale a lifeline? Transfer updates on Manchester City’s Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan, Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen, Juventus’ Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala; plus MORE!

Bayern back in on Bale? (AS)

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is in a tough spot. His coach dislikes him (to put it mildly), but his club won’t get rid of him. It is truly a no-win situation for the Wales international, who was reportedly offered an insane deal from Chinese club Jiangsu Suning.

Now, however, there are some whispers that Bayern still might be keeping tabs on Bale:

As things stand, neither Real Madrid nor Bale are interested in arranging a temporary departure. Indeed, the player’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, told Sky Sports two weeks ago: “There will be no makeshift deals to get him out of the club [...]. I can guarantee you he will not be going on loan to any club.” However, if Bale is still a Real Madrid player in the final days before the German and Spanish transfer windows both close on September 2nd, Bayern could step in and seek to broker such a transfer.

Although clubs are balking at paying a significant transfer fee for a 30-year-old who has played just 53% of Madrid’s total game time in his Bernabéu career, it is thought that Bayern could at least be persuaded to take on his wages in their entirety, particularly given his potential commercial value to the club.

“Don’t forget that Bale is sponsored by [Bayern Munich kit suppliers] Adidas, and that this is a brand that has a lot of money invested in Bayern,” AS was told by a source with intimate knowledge of the strategic processes at the Allianz Arena.

Hmmm....want a live shot of the BFW comments after reading this? Here you go:

Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images

But alas, Falk Master Flex strikes again!

Falk “flexes” a semi (@cfbayern)

Bild chief Christian Falk might need to get a shake weight for all of the flexing that he’s done in this transfer window. Falk reviewed the France Football story on Manchester City’s Leroy Sane (which we covered here) and said it was “semi-true”:

Falk also flexed a bit more on the Hakim Ziyech rumor we hit on yesterday as well:

As far as the rumor about Juventus star Mario Mandzukic goes (we covered it here), Falk was terse with his flex:

Got all of that? Okay, let’s move on.

Gundogan expected to stay at Man City (Manchester Evening News)

Perhaps there is actually one German at Manchester City, who is definitely not heading to Bayern Munich. Ilkay Gundogan appears headed for an extension with the club:

Ilkay Gundogan is expected to sign a new Manchester City contract in the next fortnight. The Germany midfielder played as a substitute for the Blues in the Community Shield win over Liverpool. But with a new contract offer remaining unsigned, and just one year left on his current deal, the 28-year-old’s future was unclear.

City had indicated that they would not sell him this summer, and would let his contract run down rather than do so, with Pep Guardiola a big fan of the player. But it seems Gundogan may have decided to pre-empt that and agree new terms. The arrival of Rodri means Gundogan’s role last season as a stand-in for injured Fernandinho – which he performed admirably – is now squeezed.

Gundogan, of course, is a Germany international, who was allegedly flirting with Bayern Munich during this transfer window.

Los Blancos and the Red Devils hot on Eriksen (AS)

At one point, Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen was linked to Bayern Munich. That interest may have waned by the Bavarians, but Real Madrid and Manchester United are both looking to bring in the talented Denmark international:

AS has learned that the Bernabéu has maintained regular contact with Eriksen’s camp, whom the club informed last week that the Spurs midfielder remains on the club’s list of possible reinforcements. But while Madrid has focused its efforts on Pogba, it has lost ground to Manchester United in the race to sign Eriksen. The Dane has been high on United’s agenda since the end of March, when coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put this name on the table in one of his first meetings with the Old Trafford hierarchy surrounding planning for the upcoming season.

The Red Devils have accelerated talks with Eriksen in the past few days, proposing a five-year deal and salary close to that of Pogba. The Danish midfielder is understood to be seriously considering accepting the offer, convinced that United would build a project around him.

PSG to bid on Dybala? (Transfer Market Web)

Paris Saint-Germain might crash the bidding party on Juventus star Paulo Dybala:

According to latest Italian rumors, PSG have just submitted Juventus a 60 million euros opening bid, much likely to be turned down by the latter, on Argentinian international forward Paulo Dybala (25). While Manchester United are seemingly letting go of him, and focusing on teammate of his Mario Mandzukic, La Joya is still tracked by Tottenham as well.

Rooney as a player-coach? (Sky Sports)

D.C. United star Wayne Rooney looks like he’s headed back to England to be a player-coach for Derby County: