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The Toni Kroos story just isn't going away, and although the strongest links right now are with Manchester United, Chelsea have been mentioned as well so we're going to be keeping tabs on it. According to SportWitness, Bild have reported that Kroos, whose contract expires in summer of 2015, is refusing to sign a new deal unless his wages are boosted to the level of Bayern Munich's biggest stars, most of whom make something on the order of €10 million a season -- £158,000 per week.
If Kroos signs a five-year deal worth that much, we're looking at a total wage commitment of £41.2 million before a transfer fee is even considered. On top of that, it's entirely possible that a bidding war between multiple teams would allow the 24-year-old to command an even higher salary. So even on a free, Kroos would be extremely expensive -- the 'free transfer' would cost more than what we paid to bring in Oscar from Internacional, for example. And Bayern may well decide to sell him before his contract expires, so there could be a bidding war there as well.
So, while Toni Kroos is an excellent player, he'd cost a lot of money. He doesn't address a position of serious need (if you think he's a serious option in a two-man central midfield in the Premier League, we're forever going to disagree on player evaluation). There's not a whole lot of reason for Chelsea to go all-out on this one -- nor is there much reason for Manchester United to. My feeling is that the most likely outcome is him staying at Bayern and earning a hefty wage.
But hey, he's Toni Kroos. So, yeah, I kind of want him anyway.
