Pep Guardiola 'pushing to bring Toni Kroos to Manchester City'

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly hopeful of convincing Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos to move to the Premier League next year.

The 32-year-old has again been a vital player for Los Blancos at the start of this season, making five appearances in all competitions, including the full 90 minutes against Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Kroos's current deal at Bernabeu is due to expire next June, though, meaning that, as it stands, he would be able to hold talks with foreign clubs in January over a pre-contract.

According to El Nacional, Real Madrid are hopeful that the German will retire at the club, but the renewal offer that was recently presented was turned down by the player.

The report claims that Kroos is considering his future and is tempted by the idea of playing in the Premier League before the end of his career, having previously come close to joining Manchester United.

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Guardiola allegedly has an agreement with the Man City board that the club will attempt to sign the midfielder if it becomes clear that he wants to leave Real Madrid.

However, in a recent interview with OMR, Kroos said that he was not currently considering leaving Los Blancos.

"I know that in these eight years he (Real Madrid president Florentino Perez) has not thought for a second about selling me. At that time I came for 'only' 25 million euros, surely he could have sold me later for more money," he said.

"I have an excellent relationship with the club, I have grown very fond of it. The president, the team, the fans... so I won't leave either."

Kroos also spoke of his close relationship with Perez: "I'm very close to him, he's a good-hearted person. From the first day he gave me the feeling that he was happy that I was coming to his club, which is unusual for the size of a club like Real Madrid."

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Kroos was again a key player for Los Blancos during the 2021-22 campaign, making 44 appearances in all competitions, contributing three goals and three assists.

The midfielder has made 370 appearances for Real Madrid in all competitions, winning three La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns during a highly-successful period.

The reigning Spanish and European champions signed Aurelien Tchouameni over the summer, while Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde will seemingly be important players for the club in the years to come.

Real Madrid allowed Casemiro to leave over the summer, though, and the club are said to be reluctant to part with Kroos, particularly as Luka Modric also only has a contract until next June.

Man City are already well-stocked in the middle of the park, meanwhile, with Kalvin Phillips, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Bernardo Silva all options.