Toni Kroos hopes to see Real Madrid team-mate Marco Asensio stay at the La Liga giants amid claims that Aston Villa hope to take the Spain international to the Premier League.
Is there a more enticing type of transfer?
A talented squad player leaving a bonafide European superclub and taking, with all due respect, a step back. Thus, becoming a talismanic presence at a side a few rungs further down the ladder, all the while showing just how brilliantly-gifted he truly is.
Could Marco Asensio make an impact at Aston Villa similar to, say, Yaya Toure at a pre-title-winning Manchester City? Could he capture the imagination like James Rodriguez in his dazzling first few months at Everton?
Aston Villa in talks with Real Madrid star Marco Asensio
Spain international Asensio will become a free-agent at the end of the current campaign and, according to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa have already shown their hand. Villa boss Unai Emery, Marca add, has spoken to the 27-year-old playmaker; Asensio expected to leave Real Madrid on the back of his most prosperous season yet at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It’s difficult to say what will happen with Nacho, (Dani) Ceballos and Asensio, to be honest,” Kroos tells Total Real of his three out-of-contract team-mates, via AS.
“I have a feeling that Marco might not stay, but also more from outside reports than inside (knowledge). In terms of Nacho and Dani, I have no idea.
“But I have a feeling. I’d be happy if they stayed.”
A supremely-technical right winger with a wand of a left foot – former Real boss Zinedine Zidane once likened his quality from the flank to that of Lionel Messi – Asensio set up eight goals and scored 12 of his own during 2022/23.
In fact, the three-time Champions League winner could probably host his very own Goal of the Season award. Such is the quality of his typically pinpoint finishes from the edge of the penalty area.
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