Sensational Report Claims Real Madrid Are Keeping Tabs on Man Utd Trio With Eye to Swap Deals

Real Madrid are keeping tabs on three of Manchester United's stars with a supposed view to considering a swap deals with their English counterparts.

The Manchester Evening News has claimed that Los Blancos have been asked to kept informed about the availability of David De Gea, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial as they eye new recruits ahead of the summer window.

The report goes on to allege that United could be tempted into a frankly ridiculous-sounding swap deal involving a trio of stars from each side, with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale all heading to Old Trafford if Real land De Gea, Pogba and Martial.

Real's interest in De Gea is well known, so it is unsurprising to see them linked with the Spanish goalkeeper once again.

However, with United reportedly set to hand their star shot stopper a lucrative new deal that runs until June 2023, the reigning La Liga champions may have to cast their net elsewhere in an attempt to land that new star keeper that they've been looking for.

Pogba and Martial's futures with United have also come under scrutiny over the past 12 months due to alleged falling outs with manager Jose Mourinho.

Those relationships, if other media outlets are to be believed, are slowly on the mend though and, like De Gea, are much more likely to remain in the Premier League than head to the Spanish capital.

Real themselves are unlikely to let key playmaker Kroos leave for anything less than a monstrous fee, so the possibility of United ever landing their one-time transfer target would be slim at best.

Modric, meanwhile, is set to face trial for perverting the course of justice in his Croatian homeland and it is unclear what effect that verdict would have on his future in the game.

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That leaves Bale as the only credible part of this rumour, given that reports about him being allowed to leave Santiago Bernabeu in the close season have continued to mount in recent weeks.

Whether that means the Wales star would head to Manchester is up for debate, but it's fair to say that this piece of speculation should be taken with the biggest pinch of salt possible.