IVORY COAST and Barcelona anchorman Yaya Toure has hinted that he would like to join his brother in the English Premiership.

IVORY COAST and Barcelona anchorman Yaya Toure has hinted that he would like to join his brother in the English Premiership.

Yaya's elder brother, Kolo, is on the books of Manchester City and the younger Toure has not hidden his desire to leave sunny Spain for the grey skies of England. "I would like to play in the Premiership. It is one of the strongest leagues in the world and I always make sure that I rush home to watch the matches," Toure said, though he refused to say which club he'd like to play for.

It is understood that Manchester City have been courting him and could make a formal bid to Barca after the World Cup.

Regarding his country's World Cup chances, Toure said: "We again find ourselves in a difficult group like at the last World Cup in Germany, where we didn't have a lot of experience. A team like Portugal is a very strong side with good players such as Ronaldo, but we'll do our best to progress."

Coach Sven Goran Eriksson said he hoped to help the Elephants leave their mark on this World Cup, having failed to make it past the group stages in 2006.