Ex-Liverpool and Arsenal star to join Man City coaching staff for Club World Cup

Two-time Premier League winner Kolo Toure is joining Manchester City's backroom staff for the Club World Cup.

Toure, a coach with the club's Under-18 team under Oliver Reiss, is jetting off to the United States with Pep Guardiola's squad on Thursday.

City saw three of Guardiola's coaching team – Juanma Lillo, Carlos Vicens and Inigo Dominguez – depart the club at the end of the season and have moved quickly to find replacements.

Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp's former No 2 at Liverpool, is in as Guardiola's assistant. Set-piece coach James French ended a 13-year stay at Liverpool to join as well.

Toure sealed an Under 18s role last year and is popular among players. The 44-year-old won the league title with City in 2012, while it's not yet known if his promotion will become permanent.

The appointments before the Club World Cup, and an alteration in how many players are going on the trip, means the backroom set-up will take on a different feel to what had been expected.

The Under-21 boss Ben Wilkinson and his assistant Craig Mudd, both highly regarded in the academy, were believed to be helping the first team in separate fortnight stints across the tournament.

But City have opted to largely take established stars, and a smaller squad with fewer youngsters than first envisaged, to America - meaning the two coaches will be left to organise their side's pre-season instead.

City are expected to announce the squad, made up of around 25 players, on Wednesday. FIFA regulations allow teams to take more than 30.