Bayern Munich are playing hard to get in negotiations for wantaway striker Robert Lewandowski.

Barcelona continued their crusade to sign Lewandowski but have yet to hear back from the German club about their most recent offer, which is worth over €40 million, according to ESPN’s Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

It’s the third time Barcelona have tabled an offer for the Polish international, who’s spoken publicly about his desire to leave Bayern Munich after eight years.

Barcelona’s latest bid includes add-ons that bring the total to over Bayern’s reported €40-million valuation of the 33-year-old striker.

But Bayern Munich officials have repeatedly stated that the club prefers Lewandowski to see out the final year of his contract, which expires in 2023. They’ve also expressed doubts over Barcelona’s ability to afford such a transfer given the club’s well-known financial restraints.

However, Barcelona have raised €207.5 million with the recent sale of their television rights, which could eventually help the Catalan side begin signing players this summer. Barcelona are also attempting to raise further funds by selling a 49.9% stake in their merchandising rights, Marsden and Llorens add.

Lewandowski scored 344 goals in 375 games after joining Bayern Munich in 2014.

Romelu Lukaku is going back to another old flame.

Less than a year after he returned to Chelsea – the club that discarded him after just 10 league appearances in 2014 – for a huge €115-million fee, Lukaku has made a U-turn and is back at Inter Milan on a season-long loan.

To complete Wednesday’s switch, Inter parted with an €8-million loan fee and will potentially pay a further €4 million to Chelsea in performance-related bonuses, according to figures from The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano.

The Belgian striker has reportedly agreed for his annual net salary to fall from €12 million to €8 million as part of the deal. Inter have no option or obligation to turn the loan agreement into a permanent transfer when the 2022-23 campaign is over.

Lukaku has four years remaining on his Chelsea contract.

The 29-year-old’s temporary move comes after he mustered a disappointing tally of eight goals over 26 Premier League appearances last term. In addition to his low-scoring campaign, Lukaku harmed his relationship with head coach Thomas Tuchel and the club when he said he was unhappy with the team’s tactics during an unauthorized interview in December.

He suffered a Premier League scoring drought of over four months to begin 2022.

“There’s a history of strikers struggling a little bit at Chelsea,” Tuchel offered in February after Lukaku touched the ball just seven times over the entirety of the Blues’ 1-0 win at Crystal Palace.

But he certainly didn’t struggle at Inter. Lukaku enjoyed the most fruitful period of his career in Italy, netting 47 goals and collecting numerous individual awards over two Serie A campaigns. His second season culminated with Inter winning their first Scudetto since 2010.

“I am convinced that I am in a team that can do great things,” Lukaku said three months before re-signing for Chelsea. “We can still win and grow, start a new cycle.”

After his sojourn in London, Lukaku now has the opportunity to start that new cycle in Milan.

Chelsea contacted Manchester City about the possibility of signing Raheem Sterling, according to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone.

The 27-year-old is apparently interested in moving to Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea are expected to lodge a formal bid soon. City could demand as much as £60 million for the attacker, whose contract expires next summer.

Chelsea, who are yet to add to their senior squad this summer, have reportedly made London-raised Sterling a top transfer target. The news follows €115-million flop Romelu Lukaku’s expected loan move to Inter Milan and AC Milan’s reported talks with winger Hakim Ziyech.

Sterling scored 13 goals and assisted five times over 30 Premier League appearances last season. Despite being the second-highest scorer during Pep Guardiola’s six-year City reign, the England regular was left out of some of the club’s bigger matches toward the end of the campaign. He didn’t start either leg of City’s Champions League semifinal with Real Madrid or the decisive last game of the Premier League season against Aston Villa.

Last year’s acquisition of Jack Grealish restricted Sterling’s first-team opportunities. His minutes were threatened even further when Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez arrived at the Etihad Stadium this summer.

Sterling moved to City from Liverpool for £49 million in 2015.

Gareth Bale is taking his talents to Hollywood.

The Welsh superstar is headed for Los Angeles FC after he ended a trophy-laden spell with Real Madrid at the end of the European season. Bale confirmed his upcoming move to Major League Soccer with LAFC’s customary baseball cap reveal.

Bale agreed to join LAFC on a one-year contract, reports David Ornstein of The Athletic. The agreement includes an option to extend his stay by a further 18 months.

The Southampton product, who turns 33 in July, became a free agent after ending nine years at Real Madrid, where he scored 106 goals in 256 appearances. He moved to Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then-world-record fee of £85 million.

Bale was previously linked with a move back to Spurs and hometown club Cardiff City in recent weeks, as well as Spanish side Getafe, whose president said that Bale was “offered” to the Spanish club earlier this month.

It’s understood that LAFC won’t have to use a Designated Player spot on Bale, with Tom Bogert of Major League Soccer reporting that the American club will instead use Targeted Allocation Money to complete the deal.

Additionally, Carlos Vela will commit to staying in Los Angeles as a Designated Player. The Mexican forward is expected to extend his stay with a one-year contract, according to ESPN’s Taylor Twellman.

The reported agreement with Bale comes weeks after LAFC completed a deal to sign Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Both players could be eligible to make their respective debuts for the Western Conference-leading club when LAFC take on city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on July 8, Bogert adds.