Yaya Toure has the biggest platform on the planet tonight to prove his readiness for the Premier League.

His performance for the Ivory Coast against Brazil at Soccer City in Johannesburg is perfectly timed.

Touted as “the new ­Vieira” by his elder ­brother Kolo, the Barcelona man is coveted by Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, amongst ­others.

City are favourites to sign him for £25million, thanks to the influence of Kolo, their captain, and Yaya’s resistance to the notion of being a makeweight in Barca’s ­attempt to sign Cesc Fabregas.

Toure admitted: “I like the thought of playing in England.

“I try to watch as many matches as I can on TV and, of course, I talk all the time to Kolo.

“What do I like about this football? The passion of the fans, what the game means in your country.

“Manchester City have a good project. I know of ­Arsenal, also, because of my brother.

“The Premier League is a strong competition. But first I must look after the World Cup.”

Toure, 27, excelled in the 0-0 against ­Portugal which has left qualification from the so-called Group of Death on a knife edge.

He epitomises the remorseless physicality of Sven Goran Eriksson's Ivory Coast team, and understands the wider importance of progress into the last sixteen.

“When you play for the Ivory Coast you play for the people,” he said. “Here, in Africa, that is special.

“We played a good match against Portugal and we know Brazil will be tough. Everyone knows the names, and the stories of this team.

“The world knows we are in the toughest group. But we are focused.”

Eriksson’s influence is ­acknowledged by Toure – and by Gilberto Silva, ­Brazil’s former ­Arsenal ­midfield player.

“The coach is a good man, a gentleman,” said Toure.

“He has given us something extra. We are ­organised and ­disciplined.

“He has made us more difficult to beat. We feel we are one of the top teams. Now we must prove it.”

Gilberto added: “Eriksson has great experience of ­managing at this kind of tournament. We had the ­opportunity of playing against him when he coached ­England in 2002 and they gave us a lot of difficulties.

“We are sure it will be very tough but we believe we can improve a lot from the North Korea game.

“This group is very challenging. Ivory Coast are a very strong team. We watched most of their game against Portugal before our match, and we expect them to be difficult as well.

“They are not just ­physically strong, they have quality as well. We don’t know whether Drogba will start against us but we expect him to. Of course he is a very ­important player for them. He has a smell for the goal. But we are confident.”

Gilberto is also looking ­forward to a reunion with Kolo Toure. The pair were key ­figures in Arsenal’s 2004-05 Invincibles side, which also ­featured Vieira.

“The Invincibles season was one of the great achievements of my career and for Kolo. But this time something has to give for one of us.

“It will be nice to see him again, and Eboue. I wish them luck in the ­tournament – after ­Sunday.”