Real Madrid monitoring Toni Kroos look-alike midfielder Angelo Stiller

Real Madrid suffered a blow at the end of last season when Toni Kroos announced his retirement from professional football. Many ‘Madridistas’ had high hopes for this season with the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, but the reality is that they have missed the German in midfield. 

Los Blancos were knocked out in the Champions League quarter-finals by Arsenal, are on the verge of losing La Liga to Barcelona and the 'Cules' also defeated them in the finals of the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup. 

The Merengues' board do not want a repeat of a poor season with a star-studded squad and will be looking to strengthen their midfield for the upcoming campaign. 

After the 15-time Champions League winners were reported to be on the verge of securing the signings of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen, they are now monitoring Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller. 

The German midfielder is one of the gems of the Bundesliga side and is noted for a style of play reminiscent of Toni Kroos, albeit perhaps with a more defensive character. He has made 46 official appearances so far this season, 44 of them starts, scoring 4 goals and providing 9 assists.

In fact, Germany coach Nagelsmann himself has already said that alongside Pavlovic, Stiller could be one of the players to take Kroos' role in the national team ahead of the World Cup. "They’re two players we are thinking about and who, in terms of their age structure, would actually be perfect for the World Cup," he said.