This summer seems to be dominated by the same clubs and same players in a variety of different scenarios.

At the core of this convoluted mess is Cristiano Ronaldo. Before the Portuguese superstar decided that he did not want to play in Spain anymore as a result of the Spanish authorities' allegations of tax fraud against him, Alvaro Morata seemed like he was destined for a move to Manchester United.

On the other hand is the future of French wonderkid Kylian Mbappe. Arsenal have seemingly gone all out for the striker and it seems as though the 18-year-old will command a world record fee if and when he does move.

Ronaldo could only go to Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain by virtue of the fact they could be the only two clubs in Europe that could ostensibly afford him.

So, to make things that much more complex, Madrid want Mbappe, but the French international is concerned he will not get enough playing time with Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema at the Bernabeu.

In the debut episode of the Daily Record's Transfer Window podcast, Spanish and European football expert Graham Hunter shed some light on Madrid's intentions and it will have wide-ranging ramifications for everyone else involved.

Hunter revealed Los Blancos have been tracking Mbappe since he was 14-years-old and Zinedine Zidane wants to make the youngster a main player with Real. The result of that would see Bale as the odd one out in that equation.

Ronaldo is the man that holds the key to any plan, but Real president Florentino Perez seems almost certain he will not lose his talisman.

He said: “Ronaldo is a Madrid player, we’re delighted with him, [but] there was a story in the paper that said he was annoyed with the treatment given to his tax issue. I think the best thing for him and Madrid is for him to stay: we’ll see what happens.

“Right now, Cristiano is a Real Madrid player and something very strange would have to happen for him not to be, and I am not [even] contemplating that.”