Real Madrid again sent out the message that they want Paul Pogba in Santiago Bernabeu the soonest, and if Manchester United would be in agreement, the English club stands to get Toni Kroos. It is unlikely, however, that the transfer will be finalized in time for the January transfer window.
Pogba, mostly sidelined in the season, making the jump to Real is seen to happen in the summer as the Red Devils are believed unlikely to soften on their demand that the Spanish giants pay up £180 million for the French midfielder.
According to Metro, Real manager Zinedine Zidane intends to send a valued asset to his counterpart, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in an attempt to make the Premier League side to lower the tag price on Pogba. Apart from paying £100 million, Zidane will ship Toni Kroos to United in hopes that a deal can be agreed on.
Per the same report, Zidane has already planned on selling the German midfielder to make room for the World Cup winner.
It is understood that Kroos used to be on United's radar and the club nearly signed him from Bayern Munich before heading to La Liga in 2014. It was clear, Real's Zidane is banking on the likelihood that Solskjaer will see Kroos as a viable replacement to Pogba, who was only seen in eight games in the current season.
Kroos was with the German team that won the World Cup in 2014 so United might just settle on the midfielder and allow Pogba to depart, The Daily Mail reported.
The France international has long-declared that he intends to seek fresh challenges out of Old Trafford and was supposed to join Real Madrid last summer but a deal on that fizzled out. It is believed his unavailability in the past months was part of the plan to force United's hand in letting him go.
Pogba will again skip United games as Solskjaer confirmed that the Frenchman will need to undergo surgery, requiring him to be sidelined for four to six months.
The Norwegian has made clear that Pogba's new ankle injury had to be operated on but not as serious as the first one. That could mean the French superstar will be forced on a vacation that will only last weeks at most.
Solskjaer said Pogba was hurt during his brief comeback and medical checks revealed the player had to go under the knife.
"Paul came back after a long spell out, two games, had a reaction and couldn't go to Burnley. He felt his ankle was sore, we did a scan and it's not the same injury, it's a different injury," said the United boss.
