Moyes: I wanted Kroos at Manchester United
David Moyes has revealed he wanted Toni Kroos to succeed Paul Scholes during his ill-fated Manchester United tenure.
The Scot succeeded compatriot Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford in 2013, but the only midfielder he could bring into the club that summer was Marouane Fellaini. Moyes' spell at helm lasted under 10 months.
The 53-year-old, who has also managed Preston North End, Everton, and Real Sociedad wrote about his transfer plans in the Sunday Times.
"I wanted to bring Kroos to Manchester United, from Bayern (Munich)," Moyes wrote. "I thought his range of passing and his ability to play people in would have made him a top United player, maybe Scholes' heir. He's gone on and shown at Real Madrid what a fantastic footballer he is.
"Kroos is a special talent, probably the closest thing at (Euro 2016) to a Xabi Alonso, an Andrea Pirlo, or Paul Scholes. It's the number of times he gets on the ball, his vision, his choice of when to play long or short."
Kroos has been dominating the midfield during the summer tournament in France, helping Germany to three wins and one draw on its way to the quarter-finals. Die Mannschaft will take on either Italy or Spain in the last eight next Saturday.
"He's got a great array of passes and the big thing for me is he tries to make winning passes," Moyes continued. "He tries to make passes that play teammates through. He's not one who just goes sideways and backwards.
"He's a quarterback of a midfield player, who can open you up with one pass, and there aren't many like that. Like Scholes, Alonso, and Pirlo, he'll also try and get forward when he can and have a few shots - because he's such a good striker of the ball. He doesn't just sit in front of the back four."
Kroos instead opted for Los Blancos a year after Moyes' interest, where he's won the Super Cup, Club World Cup, and Champions League.