Owen Hargreaves urges Toni Kroos to stay at Bayern Munich

Former England international Owen Hargreaves has urged Toni Kroos to sign a new long-term contract with Bayern Munich.

Kroos, 24, is widely regarded as one of the best central midfielders in European football, but it is understood that Bayern would be prepared to part with the German this summer after contract talks broke down.

Manchester United have been strongly linked with a move, but Hargreaves has doubted whether Kroos would be suited to Premier League football.

"Not many players leave Bayern Munich. I only wanted to leave because I'd spent 10 years there, so for me, it wasn't a money thing, I just wanted a new challenge," he told Goal.com.

"I represented England and I wanted to play in that league. With Kroos, it's different. He's been at Bayern Munich for a long time since he went there at a young age from Hansa Rostock. But this is more of a money issue than anything. I think the bigger question is, 'would he suit the Premier League? Is he going to suit a team who play 4-4-2 with two strikers up top?'

"He'd have a lot of responsibility with tracking back and that's not one of his greatest strengths, so he'd suit maybe an Arsenal or Real Madrid or Barcelona. I think he's probably in the best place for himself right now."

Hargreaves left Bayern for United in 2007.