Toni Kroos 'asks to leave Real Madrid'

An unsettled Toni Kroos has asked his agent to secure him a move away from Real Madrid, according to a report in The Mirror.

The 25-year-old midfielder, who moved to the Spanish capital from Bayern Munich in 2014, was the only member of Madrid's first-team squad not to attend their annual Christmas dinner on Wednesday.

Kroos apparently gave the instruction to agent Volker Struth before Madrid's 1-0 defeat at Villarreal, where he was left on the bench.

News of Kroos's situation has alerted Manchester United, who agreed a deal in principle to sign Kroos before David Moyes was sacked in 2014, as well as Premier League heavyweights Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Kroos - part of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning squad - insisted earlier this year that he would stay at Madrid "for a considerable time".