Late last week Real Madrid officially announced that German star Toni Kroos would be joining the club. The former Bayern Munich star adds a tremendous amount of depth in the midfield for Madrid and will give coach Carlo Ancelotti a diverse array of tactical options for the club.

Under Jose Mourinho, Los Blancos developed into arguably the best counter-attacking club in the world. The side continued to showcase that level of speed and proficiency on the counter throughout the year (just ask Bayern Munich how the 4-0 loss at home felt) while also adding a solid possession style to the play. Madrid started looking like a side with a variety of tricks that not only propelled them to the Copa del Rey, but also the relief of La Decima.

Kroos helps Ancelotti in his quest to give Madrid's ball retention. While he was always known as a firm attacker with Bayern Munich prior to the arrival of Pep Guardiola last season, his game took on a new dimension under the Catalan trainer. Guardiola, who was the man responsible for Barcelona ascendency, sought to bring the same style of play to the German champions. In order to get the team to function like Barcelona, Guardiola needed a player that could fill Xavi's role as the midfield general. He needed a man with terrific passing abilities who can find the lanes to facilitate the attackers.

That man became Kroos. The German not only found his way deeper in the midfield, but was able to utilize his intelligence to establish Munich's tremendous passing game. According to WhoScored, he had a 91.9 passing success rate in 29 Bundesliga matches and a whopping 94.2 passing success rate in 12 Champions League ties. At the World Cup, his passing success rate was a tremendous 89.9 percent success rate in just seven games; he averaged about 86.4 passes per game at the World Cup and also made over 70 passes per game in the Bundesliga. Xabi Alonso was Madrid's most frequent passer in 2013-14 and he averaged about 65.6 passes per game throughout the year.

Clearly Kroos will enable the side to play a more stringent possession game whenever it is necessary. But as shown by the Germans at the World Cup, he is also adept at playing up the pitch with speed and directness.

But another important facet of Kroos' game is his ability to play deep in the midfield as a defensive player. His possession play allows him to set up the play from deep and this is where Ancelotti truly gets his depth. Last season, the Italian played a 4-3-3 system with Alonso, Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria as his middle trio. Modric and Alonso would hang deep while Di Maria would be higher up the pitch as more of an attacker. The arrival of James Rodriguez potentially poses an issue here for Ancelotti as the Colombian is an attacking player through and through. Kroos could potentially hang back with Modric to allow Rodriguez to play in the hole behind the "BBC" attacking trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Alonso, who is 32, is no longer at his best (as evidenced during the World Cup) and Ancelotti needs to find a suitable replacement that can take over right now. Asier Illarramendi was expected to be the heir, but he still has a long way to develop before he can be handed the keys to the team's midfield. Kroos is not only an elite player, but can still grow into someone even more versatile.

The best part of the purchase is that Kroos is no longer at Bayern Munich, one of Madrid's perennial European rivals. The loss is not as significant for the German team as they have players to fill in the role. Mario Goetze is an attacking midfielder that should be getting more time while Thiago Alcantara can play the same positions that Kroos can and will likely be his main replacement. Alcantara was expected to play the Xavi role at Barcelona prior to be being bought by Munich and he will likely take on that same role with the German contingent now that Kroos is gone. All in all, the deal is a win-win for both sides.

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