James Rodriguez Bayern Munich Future in Doubt Amid Talk of Return to Real Madrid

Bayern Munich are considering ending the two-year loan spell of Real Madrid winger James Rodriguez after only three months as new manager Jupp Heynckes "is not keen" on the player. 

That's according to Alejandro Alcazar of Catalan newspaper Sport, who noted Carlo Ancelotti's recent dismissal from the helm of the Allianz Arena outfit has left Rodriguez "without his biggest fan."

It was Ancelotti who brought Rodriguez from AS Monaco to Real in the summer of 2014 before then loaning the wide man this past summer, but a spate of poor results led to his departure from the Bayern helm. Rodriguez will remain in Bavaria until the summer, when Bayern will make a decision on his future.

Heynckes has since taken over as Bayern coach until the end of this season, and podcaster Jack Rico recently mused that 18 months or so of struggling for prominence under Real boss Zinedine Zidane has stunted Rodriguez:

According to Alcazar, Heynckes "is not counting on James for the current campaign," and Der FCB also stand to save almost €50 million (£44.6 million) if they decide to cut ties with the player.

He explained Bayern have already paid Real €6.5 million (£5.8 million) to take Rodriguez for this season and would have to pay that same figure provided they wish to keep him for the second year of his agreed loan.

On top of that, the German giants wouldn't have to pay the pre-agreed permanent transfer fee of €42 million (£37.5 million) if they exit the deal early, combining for a total potential save of €48.5 million (£43.3 million).

Los Merengues might have thought that fringe figure Rodriguez was no longer their concern, although he has had his highlight moments already in the Bundesliga:

After being announced as the new stand-in manager for his old club, Heynckes made special note of the fact Rodriguez doesn't speak the native language as a stumbling block in his progress, per Sporting News (h/t Yahoo):

"James Rodriguez doesn't speak German. German football is very different to football in South America. It's a very difficult situation for a young player.

"However, he has to know that he can count on my support and my help because I like players with talent, and I believe he has a lot of talent.

"I've seen his games for Real Madrid, but I don't know him personally. When they come back [from the international break], I'm going to talk with them and give them some advice."

It's not only Heynckes who is believed not to be a fan of Rodriguez, either, as Sport's Alcazar reported that neither is the man expected to take over at Bayern next summer, Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann, who is said to think he's "too static."