Real Madrid superstar linked with shock move to Manchester United, thanks to Paul Pogba

Toni Kroos and Paul Pogba

Manchester United could land Toni Kroos as part of deal taking Paul Pogba to Real Madrid, according to reports.

Pogba has long been expected to leave United, having been linked with both Real Madrid and Juventus throughout last summer.

It has been reported that Juventus are ready to offer France midfielder Adrien Rabiot to United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a player-plus cash offer for Pogba.

But Madrid remains Pogba's most likely destination, and a switch could see German midfielder Kroos heading to Old Trafford, according to The Sun .

The publication claims that, despite Solskjaer's public declarations of support for Pogba, there is no way back for the £89million midfielder, who wants to test himself at the highest level.

Unlike Madrid and Juventus, United are not in the Champions League and face a challenging task to qualify for next season's competition, despite having hauled themselves up to fifth place in the Premier League in recent weeks.

Pogba is currently out for three to four weeks after surgery on an ankle problem, so a January transfer is highly unlikely for the World Cup winner.

But United have shown interest in Kroos before, and the 30-year-old could end up as a makeweight in the Pogba deal in the summer.

If Kroos doesn't go to United, Madrid will reportedly look to offload him anyway to make space for Pogba.

Solskjaer has always publicly maintained that Pogba is part of his plans, but United legend Ryan Giggs says the £100million-rated midfielder has been "disappointing" since joining the club.

Giggs told Optus Sport: "I feel sorry for Ole because he's got to continuously answer questions on Paul Pogba.

"I say United are on a good run at the moment and that's without him. He's come on and done okay in a few games but it's disappointing at the moment.

"He is a talent, we talk about him all the time, he's not consistently done it for United.

"But it's frustrating because the lad has got quality. Like I said, he's not shown it consistently for United since he signed, since he's come back. Is he happy? I don't know. Does he want to be elsewhere? I don't know."