How Real Madrid intend to replace Toni Kroos next season | OneFootball

An insight into the plans of the powers that be at La Liga giants Real Madrid to account for the absence of Toni Kroos next season has this evening been forthcoming.

This, of course, comes after midfielder Kroos dropped nothing short of a bombshell on his employers on Tuesday.

Amid the long-standing expectation that the 34-year-old was set to put pen-to-paper on another one-year contract extension in Madrid, Kroos, instead, announced his imminent retirement from the game.

After seeing out the final two games of Real Madrid’s season, the former Bayern Munich man will play his part in Germany’s home campaign at Euro 2024, before drawing the curtain on what has been nothing short of a legendary career.

A central fixture in the first-choice XI in Spain’s capital for a full decade now, how, then, do Los Blancos intend to make up for the loss of their midfield lynchpin?

An insight into as much, this evening, has come to the fore.

As per a report from Marca, the intention is for Jude Bellingham to drop back into a deeper role from the advanced one in which he has so thrived this season.

Carlos Carpio of Radio Marca, meanwhile, also points towards Carlo Ancelotti preparing to promote from within, with the reduced engine room options at the disposal of the coaching staff at the Santiago Bernabéu set to culminate in an uptick in minutes for both Eduardo Camavinga, and Arda Güler.

Conor Laird | GSFN