Manchester City captain Kolo Toure would love his brother Yaya to join him at Eastlands after admitting his sibling has had "hard times" at Barcelona.

Yaya Toure, 26, has been linked with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in recent seasons.

The Gunners came closest to signing the Ivory Coast international, before the midfield anchorman snubbed their overtures for a move to Barca in 2007.

He has since enjoyed a mixed time with the Catalan outfit - despite inking a one-year contract extension in the summer, the defensive midfielder has been in and out of the side this term, with Pep Guardiola preferring Sergi Busquets.

City manager Mark Hughes flew to Spain to watch him play against Osasuna last week and Kolo Toure is hoping his boss liked what he saw.

Asked if he would like to see City buy his younger brother, he told the Manchester Evening News: "I hope so. He is a good player, and if he could come to our team that would be great.

"He has had a few hard times in Barcelona. He doesn't play a lot, and he loves football and loves to play.

"If he can come, especially to a club in England, he would be really happy because the Premier League is a fantastic place to play football."

And he believes his versatile sibling - who can also operate at centre-back as he did in the Champions League final win over Manchester United last term - would assist the Blues' quest for a top-four finish.

Toure Sr said: "Technically he is very good and can hold up the ball, and is a great passer with great vision. He also has a great desire to win."

The feeling is that Hughes will dip into the market during the January transfer window to boost his side's fortunes after five consecutive draws have seen them slip off the pace at the top of the Premier League.

The last of those stalemates was Saturday's 3-3 thriller against Burnley and Toure said the latest slip-up was a bitter pill to swallow.

"It's killing me," said the former Arsenal man. "When you give away three goals at home, with all respect to Burnley, it is very, very difficult to take.

"The dressing room was quiet afterwards because we know we lost two points. We didn't play very well as a team, especially the back four.

"We have to improve our defending, including myself," he said. "But we have not known each other for long, and for a defence to work takes more time."