Franck Ribery has compared Sebastian Rudy to Real Madrid star Toni Kroos following his strong start to the season with Bayern Munich.

Rudy, who joined on a free transfer in July after his contract expired at Hoffenheim, has impressed at the base of the Bundesliga champions' midfield in the absence of the retired Xabi Alonso.

The 27-year-old set up Niklas Sule to open the scoring in the 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen and delivered strong displays in the DFB-Pokal thrashing of Chemnitzer and the DFL-Supercup penalty shoot-out win over Borussia Dortmund.

And Ribery believes he brings the sort of qualities to the side that Kroos did during a hugely successful Bayern career before he joined Madrid in 2014.

"I've always thought: good player, quiet, but not shy. He is not afraid when he's on the pitch," Ribery told Bild.

"Rudy is a bit like Toni Kroos - his style is similar."

The veteran winger also expects Sule to prove a good signing for Bayern.

"I will definitely have no problem with Sule," he said of the centre-back, who arrived from Hoffenheim for a reported fee of €25million. 

"He knows Bayern is a different level. He's still young but he's a good player. He has character and he's brave. I like that."

Bayern travel to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday.