If we're building an English club, I want an English player at the heart of it. It'll be good for branding and I'm the sort of imaginary super-rich mogul who cares very passionately about revenue streams. That's how I became an imaginary super-rich mogul in the first place.
Anyway, I toyed with the idea of John Stones because I suspect that that sort of player, if he develops as we hope, is going to become increasingly important, but I'm also a sucker for an all-action attacking midfielder, so I'll swipe Dele Alli away from Tottenham. He's a wonderful talent, he's got a bit of bite about him, he can score goals and make them.
Most importantly of all, he's still only 20, so I can sell cheaply made, heavily marked-up t-shirts off the back of him for at least another decade. Huzzah!
Real Madrid's Toni Kroos is currently Europe's most impressive midfielder. A precocious talent from a young age, the German has improved considerably since his move to La Liga and has embraced the deep-lying role that had initially seemed a slight waste of his talents.
With Bayern, Kroos was often hugely impressive in the No. 10 role, interpreting space excellently and linking midfield and attack efficiently. He played deeper as Germany won the World Cup in 2014 as part of a two-man midfield duo, but now with Real Madrid he thrives when fielded at the base of a triangle.
Kroos hasn't yet had the luxury of a side built around him, however. Ideally he'd start in this deep role but play in the same trio as a disciplined, intelligent midfielder capable of dropping back if Kroos wanted to drift forward -- as Sami Khedira has sometimes done at international level. If a team built itself around Kroos, it would always be in control.