Football transfer rumours: Toni Kroos to Manchester United?
As Arsenal discovered to their cost last week, the 24-year-old from Greifswald in north east Germany can, according to Guardian Bundesliga correspondent Raphael Honigstein: "play the killer pass, bring order and symmetry into congested space and, most importantly, keep possession for his team". For all that, he is apparently far from indispensable at Bayern, who have thus far rejected his exorbitant wage demands. Currently scraping by on a comparatively paltry stipend of £80,000 per week, Kroos is believed to be available for a fee of around £30m and is just one of several expensive transfer targets being lined up in the cross-hairs of United manager David Moyes. Borussia Dortmund's Ilkay Gündogan is another and several tabloids report that United are "confident" they'll land the 23-year-old central midfielder, who has been sidelined with a back injury since the opening game of his club's league campaign this season. Should the German international make a full recovery he could ink a deal with United that would see Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa go the other way and return to the club where he made his name. Whelpish Bayer Leverkusen winger Julian Brandt, 17, is also wanted by United. Described as "one of the most talented players in German football" by no less an authority than Leverkusen's sporting director Rudi Völler, Brandt only joined the club from Wolfsburg last month, as they promised him first team football. The teenager had looked to be on his way to Chelsea, who will almost certainly attempt to step up their efforts to secure his signature if they feel they can turn his head, Kazinform refers to the Guardian. With so many players being tipped to leave Germany in the summer, there ought to be no shortage of vacant training ground parking spaces and Bayern Munich may offer one to Newcastle's Mathieu Debuchy. Pep Guardiola is believed to prefer the Frenchman to the club's incumbent right-back Rafinha, despite making the Brazilian a first team regular at Bayern in the wake of his shrewd decision to move Philipp Lahm to midfield. With the Russian transfer window set to close tonight, Swansea City fans will be counting the minutes as they monitor events in Dagestan, where Anzhi Makhachkala are believed to be preparing a bid for the club's Spanish midfielder Michu. In the wake of his side's defeat at the hands of Liverpool yesterday, Swans caretaker manager Garry Monk insisted the club hadn't received any offers for their star turn, who is currently a long-term absentee due to a knee injury. Despite on-loan-at-Everton striker Romelu Lukaku being up for sale to anyone prepared to pay £22m and Fernando Torres featuring prominently of the shopping list of Singapore-based billionaire Peter Lim, who is currently trying to take over La Liga outfit Valencia, Chelsea manager José Mourinho has said it will be "impossible" to bring Radamal Falcao, Edinson Cavani or Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Stamford Bridge. And in managerial news, Harry Redknapp's future at QPR looks a mite uncertain. Already rumoured to be considering retirement come season's end as a result of persistent pain in one of his knees, speculation now abounds that the club's recent slide down the Championship table could cost him his job much sooner. Such has been QPR's slump in form that chairman Tony Fernandes took to Twitter over the weekend in a bid to appease angry and impatient fans. "There are no quick fixes," he said. "This is a long term project and our support is unwavering." Should Redknapp leave Loftus Road, former Swansea manager Michael Laudrup is being mooted as a possible replacement.
