Bayern Munich are keeping tabs on the Gareth Bale situation at Real Madrid, with the Germans weighing up a late-August bid to sign the forward on loan.

Bale unwanted at Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane

With Bale deemed surplus to requirements by Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, Los Blancos are keen to raise further funds for the summer rebuild of their squad by selling the Welshman and getting his 30m-euro gross salary off their wage bill.

A proposed move to Jiangsu Suning collapsed in late July after the Chinese Super League side failed to meet Madrid's valuation of Bale, while the former Tottenham Hotspur star has also been linked with a return to the Premier League, whose transfer window closes this Thursday.

Madrid have a strong off-field relationship with Bayern, with the two clubs successfully negotiating the loan of James Rodríguez to Bavaria in 2017, in a deal that saw the Bundesliga club pay a 13m-euro fee and foot the Colombian's wages, and which included an ultimately unused 42m-euro purchase option.

Bale Tottenham

Forward

Gales

Real Madrid, Bale not keen on loan as things stand

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 2 September, Bayern could step in and seek to broker such a transfer.

Adidas connection could boost prospects of Bale deal

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.