Real Madrid Should Be Prepared to Give Up Toni Kroos to Sign Paul Pogba
Real Madrid's summer transfer activity is frequently dominated by big-money moves as they seek to sign the world's biggest names and best performers, but with such huge outlays required to bring those players to the Santiago Bernabeu it's inevitable that other—equally impressive—names have to depart.
In an era where Real are routinely happy to break, or go close to breaking, the world transfer record on a reasonably regular basis, the Liga side have to rake in huge transfer fees themselves too, with commercial revenue streams alone not proving sufficient despite being arguably the biggest club in world football.
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Last week's suggestion here on Bleacher Report that Toni Kroos should be one of the names sacrificed to bring in funds and clear space to upgrade Zinedine Zidane's starting XI sparked a certain amount of debate, so with Marca reporting that Juventus want the Germany midfielder as part of a deal for Paul Pogba, it represents an opportunity to investigate exactly why Kroos has to be the one to make way.
4-3-3 and Kroos
First off, Kroos is a phenomenal footballer. His control and precision approaches that of a peak-era Xavi Hernandez, both with range and with consistency; in the right system he can be unstoppable.
Real Madrid, however, do not use the right system to get the best use out of him.
Kroos is at his best either in the very centre of midfield as part of a double pivot, where he operates now for Germany, or else—at least in years gone by, he hasn't actually featured there for some time now—as a No. 10, picking possession between the lines and quickly linking to the front players.
Real boss Zinedine Zidane has shown no inclination to use the 26-year-old in either of these roles, because they do not exist in his preferred 4-3-3 system.
Instead Kroos plays as a No. 8 now, having been ushered out of the deepest-lying position in the team on account of his lack of effectiveness as a defensive shield.
From his position centrally, he has to be responsible for carrying the ball from middle to final thirds, for shuttling runs to close down opponents and, of course, for providing service to the front three.
It's an in-between role for Kroos and it doesn't play to his biggest strengths, particularly when compared to Luka Modric, his fellow offensive midfielder. The Croatian has the physicality, mobility and aggression that Kroos lacks, and no less technique either.
Give Kroos room and time to play in from deep, and an athletic ball-winner and defensive guarantee beside him, and he will simply destroy teams. But when asked to combine that aspect of his game with a more expansive responsibility in terms of ground to cover and playing at a higher tempo, it's clear Real could do more—and so could he elsewhere.
Zidane has shown no attempt or intent to switch to a 4-2-3-1, preferring to keep the forwards together instead of rearranging the midfield, and so Kroos is the obvious area to upgrade.
Pogba and Real progression
For Real Madrid and buying players, one part of their problem is that they are operating from a very small pool of talent.
When a team is 10th in La Liga and trying to improve, the whole world is the talent pool. When you've just been crowned champions of Europe, far fewer players are good enough to break into your side and actually improve it.
Paul Pogba is one of those who can.
He is creative and incisive with his passing, not as metronomic and practical as Kroos is perhaps, but no less impressive in his own way, but he has far more aspects to his game which suit Real's typical performances.
A superhuman capacity for surging runs from deep, for overpowering midfield opponents and for scoring outrageous goals from range highlight the physical prowess of Pogba's game, but he is also intelligent, hard working and extremely skilful.
As a No. 8 in Real's 4-3-3, those facets of the French midfielder's game far surpass what Kroos can offer.
As for Pogba, his own improvement can, of course, continue at Juventus, where he will continue to challenge for Serie A titles and bid to go one step further than the team managed in 2015 and win the UEFA Champions League.
That said, he has already been such a success there that it's inevitable he'll attempt a new challenge sooner or later.
There are a limited number of clubs that represent a step up from Juve, and just as Pogba is one of the small pool Real can target to improve, Real are one of the few clubs who are a realistic improvement on where the midfielder already plays.
Maintain the gap
"Everyone wants Pogba because he is a great talent," suggested Zidane recently, per Marca, and he's not wrong.
Pogba would be welcomed at every club on the planet if they could afford him, but with a suggested price tag of €120 million, the queue for his signature is extremely short.
In the never-ending race to be the best club, continual investment and improvement are a fact of life, and Pogba would represent a major coup for whichever outfit snares his scrawl across a contract loaded with zeros.
Real Madrid—club and fans—have made noises this summer about becoming the first club in the Champions League-era to retain their trophy; for that to happen, the team cannot simply stand still, it needs to improve at a rate at least equal to that of their rivals all over the continent.
Getting Pogba is not simply about making their own team better, it's also about weakening one rival, Juventus, while also making sure others—Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City—don't get significantly stronger by adding the Frenchman to their own ranks.
It will be incredibly difficult for Real to win the Champions League again if they maintain the same XI.
The simple fact is, they were handed an extremely favourable run to the final in 2015-16 and, given they narrowly beat City and Wolfsburg, and only beat Atletico Madrid on penalties, the odds would be heavily against the same group of players coming out on top if they faced, for example, the run to the final that Atleti did—PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Bayern Munich.
Improve the squad and weaken a rival.
With Miralem Pjanic set to be added to Juve's ranks, per the Guardian, Paulo Dybala flourishing on a weekly basis and one of the game's great defences in place, the Turin side will be a contender in Europe next term...with Pogba.
Finances, size, on-pitch product
Football fans are greedy. With a good result, they want a better performance; with a trophy challenge they want a double; with a world-class player linked, they want him to play with who is already in place.
The sport doesn't work that way though, and in this specific case, it's extremely unlikely that Kroos and Pogba can be in the same team. Financially it doesn't balance—unless Cristiano Ronaldo or someone similar is offloaded, and let's not open that can of worms today—tactically they are not suited to be team-mates without a system built around the midfield and, it seems, Juve simply won't let it happen anyway.
It's also worth remembering that Modric is key. Above all others aside from Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, Modric is Real's best player, most consistent performer and is tactically irreplaceable. He and Pogba both pushing from the centre, with a holding midfielder behind, is as close to perfection as Real—or any team—might be able to manage.
Goals, assists, forcing the game, changing the tempo and all the off-pitch benefits such as shirt sales, economic boosts and giving Zidane the huge signing he specifically demands: everything points to Pogba being the player Real need and want.
He will win games by himself and represents a serious statement if Real pay over €100 million for him—but it will also come at the cost of Kroos.
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