Manchester United seem set to raise the stakes in their pursuit of Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos by offering the Germany international a massive pay boost to move to Old Trafford this summer. After impressing in the two Champions League games between the clubs, David Moyes appears to have settled on Kroos as the midfielder to reenergise the United engine room.
So far, Bayern have steadfastly refused to give any indication that they are prepared to talk any kind of deal with United – or any other club for that matter. Kroos however is on a contract that expires next year, and so far has refused to put pen to paper on a further agreement. This means of course that Bayern could be faced with the unpalatable situation of either having to take a deal now, or potentially lose the player for nothing in twelve months’ time. The latter option would be a disaster for the club’s financial men, and one they would be anxious to avoid.
There was an indication on Monday that perhaps Bayern were preparing the ground for a Kroos exit when they secured the signing of Sebastian Rode from Eintracht Frankfurt. The defensive midfielder signed a four year contract. Whilst Kroos can play as either the more forward, or defensive player in central midfield, the purchase can only offer encouragement to United. With this in mind, the Old Trafford club are confident there’s an opportunity to get the deal done, especially if the player can be encouraged to make his feelings known to the Bayern hierarchy. The bait of a proposed £260,000 per week contract is surely with that specifically in mind. It does however also need to be attractive enough to compensate for at least one year’s absence from Europe’s top table, as United will not be playing Champions League football next year. If the deal went ahead, it would parachute Kroos into the top echelon of players at United. Still behind the £300,000 of Wayne Rooney, it would however put him on a broad level with Robin van Persie.
The player himself has let little slip on his intentions, and it is of course always possible that he may use the United interest to increase his bargaining power at the Allianz for an improved contract offer. It’s a dangerous game to play however, and if Bayern have indeed bought Rode in as a replacement, it may well be that they consider Kroos a lost cause.
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Source: DSG
