What on earth is Toni Kroos thinking?

Toni Kroos is a very good player but he could be easily replaced by Bayern Munich. He would do well to bear the latter point in mind. Pep Guardiola left the Germany midfielder on the bench for the recent Bundesliga victory over Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern were none the poorer for his absence. They won 5-0. Joining him on the sidelines for that match was Thomas Muller, who had this to say on any team-mate who thought about complaining: "There is no room for selfish behaviour at Bayern."

Thiago, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez have not started once together in the Bundesliga this season. Therefore, it could be argued that Bayern have not had their 'first-choice' midfield together on the pitch. Kroos, as a result, has played perhaps a more important part than expected in the Bayern success story thus far but, with Philipp Lahm dominating the midfield for Bayern this season, the 24-year-old has, and will always have, plenty of competition in there for a starting role.

It is clear that his recent stance regarding a contract renewal is aggravating for the club. Guardiola has publicly adopted a "here today, gone tomorrow" attitude towards Bayern's No.39. While Pep has indeed preferred to start with Kroos this season, he is nonetheless willing to remove the 24-year-old whenever he deems necessary without affecting his team's output. That should be a cause of concern for Kroos as he takes on the third-richest club in the world in a high-stakes game of contract poker.

Kroos's current deal expires in the summer of 2015 and he wants improved terms. Among the middling earners at Bayern, Kroos has yet to resolve this standoff and is reported to seek around €8 million (£6.6m) per year to commit to a new deal. Adding to the brinkmanship over a new Bayern contract is the reported interest from Manchester United, whose deficiencies in midfield are abundant and whose manager, David Moyes, is known to have seen Kroos in action in January. The Germany international can now play up the attentions of United to Bayern and use it as collateral in his quest for an exceptional deal.

"Much has been written, especially in the last few days, about my sporting future," Kroos wrote on Facebook this week. "The fact is I am very happy to play for Bayern and my position in the team is very good. The fact is also that we couldn't agree a new contract.

"Since it runs until 2015 this is not a big problem and we will see what the future brings. My focus is on the sport side of things and we will do everything possible to complete the season as successfully as last season."

Kroos can be described as a homegrown prospect, having joined Bayern from Hansa Rostock as a 16-year-old. He is among that next wave of talent bred at Bayern following in the slipstream of Lahm and Schweinsteiger; a generation that includes Muller and David Alaba. The problem that Kroos has in his attempts to draw more money from Bayern is that his place in the team, while merited, is not yet integral. 

Bayern - whose revenues, according to the Deloitte Football Money League, have grown to €431m (£358m)- have the means to meet any offer that Kroos deems acceptable. Is he worth the kind of money that he seeks? Probably. Does he have the right to extract his maximum worth through what is a short career? Absolutely.

But don't expect Bayern to see things the same way. In this power play there will be only one winner. The Bavarians have not made their fortune in the last few years by kowtowing to player demands. Quite likely is that Kroos will overplay his hand and end up leaving Bayern, a club who, in a football sense, suit him perfectly, for an inferior team.

Bayern will have no qualms about making an example of Kroos to show other players on the staff that no player is bigger than the club. "There are a few players that cannot be replaced but Kroos is not one of them,"