Could Real Madrid use Toni Kroos to get Paul Pogba?

Real Madrid will likely pursue Paul Pogba with renewed vigor next summer due to their mounting concerns in midfield, but could Los Blancos be persuaded by Manchester United to include one of their veteran midfielders in a deal?

Despite Zinedine Zidane’s best wishes, Real Madrid were unable to purchase Paul Pogba this summer as part of the manager’s “Revolution”. Real spent over 300 million euros on the transfer market, which included Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard. But they were unable to add another world-class player from the Premier League, as Manchester United wisely resisted selling their best player.

But Real will most likely try to buy Pogba again next summer. BILD reports that United are considering showing interest in Toni Kroos, with the German midfielder reportedly being worth 75 million euros to the Europa League side.

Kroos has become a key cog for Real Madrid over the past several years and is off to an excellent start to the 2019-2020 campaign after a mediocre 2018-2019 season. Though he has deficiencies in midfield, Kroos is one of the world’s best passers and has been a key source of created chances for Los Blancos thus far in the La Liga campaign.

There’s no doubt that Pogba is light years ahead of Kroos in terms of transfer value. If Kroos is worth 75 million euros at the age of 29, then Pogba is worth at least double that amount of money in the prime of his career. Pogba is a much better defender and goal-scoring threat than Kroos, whose technical ability and passing is also matched by the French superstar.

But Kroos would be a world-class player for United to target and could offset the loss of Pogba at the center of the park. Whether Kroos has the physicality to excel in the Premier League is entirely questionable, and it makes this rumor seem more like a dream scenario for Real, who would probably love to get younger and better at midfield.

Kroos has been a great player for Real Madrid, but Pogba is simply on another level. More importantly, he’d be an ideal fit for the club in the middle of the park and would immediately solve their issues in midfield without them having to pursue options like Donny van de Beek or Christian Eriksen.

This blockbuster swap probably isn’t happening, but it isn’t a laughable proposition either. Manchester United could use a proven player as part of the exchange, and sending Kroos back the other way would help Los Blancos potentially save 75 million euros in cash on the Pogba deal. The problem is that Kroos might not be the best fit stylistically or age-wise for the Red Devils, which is why United will almost certainly ask for cash only in a Pogba transfer.