COMMENT: Pedja Mijatovic nailed it this week. Zinedine Zidane, Paul Pogba and Real Madrid. Forget smoke and mirrors. This one smacked you in the face...

Six years in at Real Madrid. Three as a striker. Three as a sporting director. Controlling the ins and outs. Mijatovic knows how the club ticks. And reflecting on the exchanges through the press between Zidane and Pogba, he spelt out perfectly what we can expect this summer.

"If Zidane spoke so clearly about a player like that, he likes him a lot," said Mijatovic, "and if he likes him that much, Real Madrid will do everything possible to sign him.

"Zidane knows him from previous years, he is French and if he likes him so much they will do everything to sign him."

So brace yourself Manchester United. No matter what Pogba told his manager after those quotes on international duty. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must know. Zidane is planting something. And he wants it to grow.

The blanket coverage this week in the Madrid press. So close to those who sit on the board at Real. It was all confirmation. Story after story. Day after day. It's been Zidane, Pogba and Real Madrid. €100m? €150m? The price being bandied about now is €180m. But the cost is almost irrelevant. Zidane has told the president he wants his fellow Frenchman signed. And Florentino Perez - this time around - won't flinch. €105m was too much three years ago when Pogba became available at Juventus. But paying over the odds won't matter today. Especially after the lengths Florentino went to convince Zidane to come back.

But the president does have a couple of cards up his sleeve. Speculation in both England and Spain has been raised of Gareth Bale becoming part of an exchange. Old news? We know. But there's a second trump card for Florentino to play - and it's something which was just recently initiated from United's side of the negotiating table.

Toni Kroos. "The tractor", as he was described by former Real coach and midfielder Bernd Schuster. Off colour. Out of sorts. But still regarded highly across Europe. Not the least at Old Trafford

Kroos. Or at least his representatives. They've already been offered an escape route out of Madrid. Agents representing United came in last week with an offer to double his existing Real salary. Real's intermediaries were also tapped. If they were prepared to do business, United were willing to make a one off €60m offer to take the German to England. Six years after agreeing terms face-to-face with David Moyes, Kroos is now being offered the chance to make the circle whole.

But for the moment. At least, from last week's back and forth. Real are in no rush to part with the midfielder. Indeed, the message relayed back to Ed Woodward, the United vice-chairman exec, was Kroos would not leave for less than €150m. Even then, the 29 year-old would have to make a transfer request himself.

And that's where it all hinges. Real are prepared to sell. But only if Kroos demands it. Schuster may disagree, but despite enduring his worst season in a Real shirt, no-one inside the club is pushing Kroos out.

"Kroos is a diesel tractor right now," scoffed Schuster infamously after Real's dismal Copa Clasico defeat this season, "not a diesel Audi, he trots and does nothing."

And that's why United spy a bargain. Kroos has lost something this season. No matter what he says. No matter his defiant protests. The German has struggled - just as Real have this season.

"Nobody can question my style of play in the world of football," he snapped last week, conscious of the criticism fired his way.

"It's true that we have had highs and lows, maybe more lows than we are used to. But after the three seasons we had it is normal."

For United. Particularly Solskjaer. This is where it gets interesting. Kroos has struggled this season. No question. But in his words, he still feels he has plenty to offer. And at 29. With three Champions League medals in the trophy room at home. Who would doubt him?

And if Florentino was to return with an offer of Kroos (and possibly Bale) for Pogba, surely it would have Solskjaer rethinking his stand regarding the United No6.

Indeed, it can be argued for the system he wants to play, Kroos is the better fit. With a team built around the pace of it's attack, moving the ball quickly is key. Ideally, Solskjaer wants two scrappers in the heart of his midfield. Win it and give it. Roy Keane. Paul Ince. Bryan Robson. All great footballers. But also ball-winners. Just as talented as Pogba. But a different type of midfielder to the Frenchman.

And when you think of the pace at which Solskjaer wants his team to perform, adding Bale to the deal makes it all the more attractive. Two players to transform an XI. To make a system work. Even if Real insisted on some cash to match the valuations, it can be argued it would be worth it.

And for all the dismissal of such swaps never actually coming off. Woodward does have previous, having engineered the exchange of Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Alexis Sanchez with Arsenal. If there's a swap to be done, Woodward has the experience to make it happen.

But it will also mean the vice-chairman having to surrender his pet project. No-one inside United is a stronger supporter of Pogba than Woodward. Both on and off the pitch, Woodward has long stated the club's future will be built around the Frenchman.

But such loyalty is likely to only go one way. As Mijatovic says, there's no doubting the intentions of Zidane now. Why fight it? Especially when there's an opportunity to finish these negotiations on top.