Man City Square
Fansided

Manchester City: Transfer News and Rumour Roundup

By Stephen Little

BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 20: Ilkay Guendogan of Dortmund looks on prior to the DFB Cup semi final match between Hertha BSC Berlin and Borussia Dortmund at Olympia Stadium on April 20, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 20: Ilkay Guendogan of Dortmund looks on prior to the DFB Cup semi final match between Hertha BSC Berlin and Borussia Dortmund at Olympia Stadium on April 20, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next

The Potential

Toni Kroos, Real Madrid, 26, Midfield

Oh boy. Toni Kroos. Say what you like about Gundogan and Laporte, but before recently you could go up to someone in the bar and mention their names only to get “you what?” in return. Kroos Control is a household name, a Galactico who just last week won another Champions League medal with Real. Why on Earth would he come to City?

Well, for a start, Real may have had success in the Champions League, but arguably they had one of the easiest run-ins in the history of the competition. Zidane’s men too finished second in La Liga to fierce rivals Barcelona, which is perhaps more important to the fans than a Champions League in the end.

Los Blancos will be looking to improve and have taken steps in that direction already. Perhaps their most coveted pickup, and indeed any team’s, would be Juventus’ Paul Pogba though. To land the 23 year old phenom, Real would likely have to pony up upwards of £100 million which is an obscene ask for any player and would ultimately require sacrifices to be made to afford it. Enter rumours about Kroos.

Further fuel to the fire is that Pep managed Kroos during his first year at Bayern and lost the player, against his will, to Real. Pep was and is a noted admirer of what Kroos brings to the game and the two have worked together successfully in the past. City have money, Real want money, Real have Kroos, City want Kroos. Sounds perfect, right?

Not really. Recent reports have shown that Kroos really has no desire to leave the Bernabeu, and why would he? He’s at one of the best teams on Earth. He’s making boatloads of cash. He’s winning trophies. He would still be a first team player even if they did sign Pogba. He’s that good.

Kroos runs the game from start to finish, like Yaya Toure in his heyday. You could put him in any team and he’d stick, Manchester City included. With Gundogan already in, who better to compliment him with than Kroos? Sadly, it seems a long shot unless Real are willing to push him out the door. Assuming they are, then I can imagine a situation where he links up with Pep again.

Next: The Wishful Thinking

Home/Man City News