diff --git a/Config.in.legacy b/Config.in.legacy
index 59147180c4..d1056015c8 100644
--- a/Config.in.legacy
+++ b/Config.in.legacy
@@ -145,6 +145,30 @@ endif
 ###############################################################################
 comment "Legacy options removed in 2016.11"
 
+config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_CPUPOWER
+	bool "linux-tool cpupower"
+	depends on BR2_LINUX_KERNEL
+	select BR2_LEGACY
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_CPUPOWER
+	help
+	  Linux tool cpupower option was renamed.
+
+config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_PERF
+	bool "linux-tool perf"
+	depends on BR2_LINUX_KERNEL
+	select BR2_LEGACY
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_PERF
+	help
+	  Linux tool perf option was renamed.
+
+config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_SELFTESTS
+	bool "linux-tool selftests"
+	depends on BR2_LINUX_KERNEL
+	select BR2_LEGACY
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_SELFTESTS
+	help
+	  Linux tool selftests option was renamed.
+
 config BR2_GCC_VERSION_4_8_ARC
 	bool "gcc arc option renamed"
 	select BR2_LEGACY
diff --git a/linux/Config.in b/linux/Config.in
index ab4e138b8a..45d9d5ba19 100644
--- a/linux/Config.in
+++ b/linux/Config.in
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_INSTALL_TARGET
 source "linux/Config.ext.in"
 
 # Linux tools
-source "linux/Config.tools.in"
+source "package/linux-tools/Config.in"
 
 endif # BR2_LINUX_KERNEL
 
diff --git a/linux/linux.mk b/linux/linux.mk
index 5cbb5e5f19..988427ca7c 100644
--- a/linux/linux.mk
+++ b/linux/linux.mk
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ define LINUX_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS
 	$(LINUX_INSTALL_HOST_TOOLS)
 endef
 
-# Include all our extensions and tools definitions.
+# Include all our extensions.
 #
 # Note: our package infrastructure uses the full-path of the last-scanned
 # Makefile to determine what package we're currently defining, using the
@@ -411,7 +411,6 @@ endef
 # the current Makefile, we are OK. But this is a hard requirement: files
 # included here *must* be in the same directory!
 include $(sort $(wildcard linux/linux-ext-*.mk))
-include $(sort $(wildcard linux/linux-tool-*.mk))
 
 LINUX_PATCH_DEPENDENCIES += $(foreach ext,$(LINUX_EXTENSIONS),\
 	$(if $(BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_EXT_$(call UPPERCASE,$(ext))),$(ext)))
@@ -420,27 +419,6 @@ LINUX_PRE_PATCH_HOOKS += $(foreach ext,$(LINUX_EXTENSIONS),\
 	$(if $(BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_EXT_$(call UPPERCASE,$(ext))),\
 		$(call UPPERCASE,$(ext))_PREPARE_KERNEL))
 
-# Install Linux kernel tools in the staging directory since some tools
-# may install shared libraries and headers (e.g. cpupower). The kernel
-# image is NOT installed in the staging directory.
-LINUX_INSTALL_STAGING = YES
-
-LINUX_DEPENDENCIES += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
-	$(if $(BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
-		$($(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_DEPENDENCIES)))
-
-LINUX_POST_BUILD_HOOKS += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
-	$(if $(BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
-		$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_BUILD_CMDS))
-
-LINUX_POST_INSTALL_STAGING_HOOKS += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
-	$(if $(BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
-		$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_INSTALL_STAGING_CMDS))
-
-LINUX_POST_INSTALL_TARGET_HOOKS += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
-	$(if $(BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
-		$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS))
-
 # Checks to give errors that the user can understand
 ifeq ($(BR_BUILDING),y)
 
diff --git a/linux/Config.tools.in b/package/linux-tools/Config.in
similarity index 83%
rename from linux/Config.tools.in
rename to package/linux-tools/Config.in
index 5ada98d9e8..61c196f912 100644
--- a/linux/Config.tools.in
+++ b/package/linux-tools/Config.in
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 menu "Linux Kernel Tools"
 
-config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_CPUPOWER
+# No prompt, this is sourced by linux/Config.in as this
+# is no real package and really belongs to the kernel.
+config BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS
+	bool
+
+config BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_CPUPOWER
 	bool "cpupower"
 	depends on !BR2_bfin # pciutils
 	depends on BR2_USE_WCHAR || !BR2_NEEDS_GETTEXT # gettext
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS
 	select BR2_PACKAGE_PCIUTILS
 	select BR2_PACKAGE_GETTEXT if BR2_NEEDS_GETTEXT
 	help
@@ -14,8 +20,9 @@ comment "cpupower needs a toolchain w/ wchar"
 	depends on !BR2_bfin
 	depends on !BR2_USE_WCHAR && BR2_NEEDS_GETTEXT
 
-config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_PERF
+config BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_PERF
 	bool "perf"
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS
 	help
 	  perf (sometimes "Perf Events" or perf tools, originally
 	  "Performance Counters for Linux") - is a performance
@@ -32,10 +39,11 @@ config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_PERF
 
 	  https://perf.wiki.kernel.org/
 
-config BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_TOOL_SELFTESTS
+config BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_SELFTESTS
 	bool"selftests"
 	depends on BR2_PACKAGE_BUSYBOX_SHOW_OTHERS # bash
 	depends on BR2_USE_MMU  # bash
+	select BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS
 	select BR2_PACKAGE_BASH # runtime
 	select BR2_PACKAGE_POPT
 	select BR2_PACKAGE_LIBCAP_NG
diff --git a/linux/linux-tool-cpupower.mk b/package/linux-tools/linux-tool-cpupower.mk
similarity index 79%
rename from linux/linux-tool-cpupower.mk
rename to package/linux-tools/linux-tool-cpupower.mk
index 095a5efad1..9958cff805 100644
--- a/linux/linux-tool-cpupower.mk
+++ b/package/linux-tools/linux-tool-cpupower.mk
@@ -15,26 +15,26 @@ CPUPOWER_MAKE_OPTS = CROSS=$(TARGET_CROSS) \
 	DEBUG=false
 
 define CPUPOWER_BUILD_CMDS
-	$(Q)if test ! -f $(@D)/tools/power/cpupower/Makefile ; then \
+	$(Q)if test ! -f $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/power/cpupower/Makefile ; then \
 		echo "Your kernel version is too old and does not have the cpupower tool." ; \
 		echo "At least kernel 3.4 must be used." ; \
 		exit 1 ; \
 	fi
 
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(@D)/tools \
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools \
 		$(CPUPOWER_MAKE_OPTS) \
 		cpupower
 endef
 
 define CPUPOWER_INSTALL_STAGING_CMDS
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(@D)/tools \
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools \
 		$(CPUPOWER_MAKE_OPTS) \
 		DESTDIR=$(STAGING_DIR) \
 		cpupower_install
 endef
 
 define CPUPOWER_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(@D)/tools \
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE) -C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools \
 		$(CPUPOWER_MAKE_OPTS) \
 		DESTDIR=$(TARGET_DIR) \
 		cpupower_install
diff --git a/linux/linux-tool-perf.mk b/package/linux-tools/linux-tool-perf.mk
similarity index 84%
rename from linux/linux-tool-perf.mk
rename to package/linux-tools/linux-tool-perf.mk
index 8143474b0a..16f3a58cc4 100644
--- a/linux/linux-tool-perf.mk
+++ b/package/linux-tools/linux-tool-perf.mk
@@ -95,25 +95,25 @@ endif
 # We name it 'GNUmakefile' so that GNU make will use it instead of
 # the existing 'Makefile'.
 define PERF_DISABLE_DOCUMENTATION
-	if [ -f $(@D)/tools/perf/Documentation/Makefile ]; then \
-		printf "%%:\n\t@:\n" >$(@D)/tools/perf/Documentation/GNUmakefile; \
+	if [ -f $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/Documentation/Makefile ]; then \
+		printf "%%:\n\t@:\n" >$(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/Documentation/GNUmakefile; \
 	fi
 endef
 LINUX_POST_PATCH_HOOKS += PERF_DISABLE_DOCUMENTATION
 
 # O must be redefined here to overwrite the one used by Buildroot for
-# out of tree build. We build perf in $(@D)/tools/perf/ and not just
-# $(@D) so that it isn't built in the root directory of the kernel
+# out of tree build. We build perf in $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/ and not just
+# $(LINUX_DIR) so that it isn't built in the root directory of the kernel
 # sources.
 define PERF_BUILD_CMDS
-	$(Q)if test ! -f $(@D)/tools/perf/Makefile ; then \
+	$(Q)if test ! -f $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/Makefile ; then \
 		echo "Your kernel version is too old and does not have the perf tool." ; \
 		echo "At least kernel 2.6.31 must be used." ; \
 		exit 1 ; \
 	fi
 	$(Q)if test "$(BR2_PACKAGE_ELFUTILS)" = "" ; then \
-		if ! grep -q NO_LIBELF $(@D)/tools/perf/Makefile* ; then \
-			if ! test -r $(@D)/tools/perf/config/Makefile ; then \
+		if ! grep -q NO_LIBELF $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/Makefile* ; then \
+			if ! test -r $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/config/Makefile ; then \
 				echo "The perf tool in your kernel cannot be built without libelf." ; \
 				echo "Either upgrade your kernel to >= 3.7, or enable the elfutils package." ; \
 				exit 1 ; \
@@ -121,14 +121,14 @@ define PERF_BUILD_CMDS
 		fi \
 	fi
 	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) $(PERF_MAKE_FLAGS) \
-		-C $(@D)/tools/perf O=$(@D)/tools/perf/
+		-C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf O=$(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/
 endef
 
 # After installation, we remove the Perl and Python scripts from the
 # target.
 define PERF_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS
 	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) $(PERF_MAKE_FLAGS) \
-		-C $(@D)/tools/perf O=$(@D)/tools/perf/ install
+		-C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf O=$(LINUX_DIR)/tools/perf/ install
 	$(RM) -rf $(TARGET_DIR)/usr/libexec/perf-core/scripts/
 	$(RM) -rf $(TARGET_DIR)/usr/libexec/perf-core/tests/
 endef
diff --git a/linux/linux-tool-selftests.mk b/package/linux-tools/linux-tool-selftests.mk
similarity index 65%
rename from linux/linux-tool-selftests.mk
rename to package/linux-tools/linux-tool-selftests.mk
index 3cbfed2d81..c4e5bf0fea 100644
--- a/linux/linux-tool-selftests.mk
+++ b/package/linux-tools/linux-tool-selftests.mk
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS = \
 	ARCH=$(SELFTESTS_ARCH)
 
 # O must be redefined here to overwrite the one used by Buildroot for
-# out of tree build. We build the selftests in $(@D)/tools/selftests and
-# not just $(@D) so that it isn't built in the root directory of the kernel
+# out of tree build. We build the selftests in $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/selftests and
+# not just $(LINUX_DIR) so that it isn't built in the root directory of the kernel
 # sources.
 #
 # The headers_install step here is important as some kernel selftests use a
@@ -33,14 +33,14 @@ SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS = \
 # The headers_install target will install the kernel headers locally inside
 # the Linux build dir
 define SELFTESTS_BUILD_CMDS
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) -C $(@D) $(SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS) \
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) -C $(LINUX_DIR) $(SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS) \
 		headers_install
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) -C $(@D)/tools/testing/selftests \
-		$(SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS) O=$(@D)/tools/testing/selftests
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) -C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/testing/selftests \
+		$(SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS) O=$(LINUX_DIR)/tools/testing/selftests
 endef
 
 define SELFTESTS_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS
-	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) -C $(@D)/tools/testing/selftests \
-		$(SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS) O=$(@D)/tools/testing/selftests \
+	$(TARGET_MAKE_ENV) $(MAKE1) -C $(LINUX_DIR)/tools/testing/selftests \
+		$(SELFTESTS_MAKE_FLAGS) O=$(LINUX_DIR)/tools/testing/selftests \
 		INSTALL_PATH=$(TARGET_DIR)/usr/lib/kselftests install
 endef
diff --git a/package/linux-tools/linux-tools.mk b/package/linux-tools/linux-tools.mk
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d45f950d6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package/linux-tools/linux-tools.mk
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+################################################################################
+#
+# linux-tools
+#
+################################################################################
+
+# Vampirising sources from the kernel tree, so no source nor site specified.
+# Instead, we directly build in the sources of the linux package. We can do
+# that, because we're not building in the same location and the same files.
+#
+# So, all tools refer to $(LINUX_DIR) instead of $(@D).
+
+# We only need the kernel to be extracted, not actually built
+LINUX_TOOLS_PATCH_DEPENDENCIES = linux
+
+# Install Linux kernel tools in the staging directory since some tools
+# may install shared libraries and headers (e.g. cpupower).
+LINUX_TOOLS_INSTALL_STAGING = YES
+
+# Include all our tools definitions.
+#
+# Note: our package infrastructure uses the full-path of the last-scanned
+# Makefile to determine what package we're currently defining, using the
+# last directory component in the path. As such, including other Makefile,
+# like below, before we call one of the *-package macro is usally not
+# working.
+# However, since the files we include here are in the same directory as
+# the current Makefile, we are OK. But this is a hard requirement: files
+# included here *must* be in the same directory!
+include $(sort $(wildcard package/linux-tools/linux-ext-*.mk))
+
+LINUX_TOOLS_DEPENDENCIES += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
+	$(if $(BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
+		$($(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_DEPENDENCIES)))
+
+LINUX_TOOLS_POST_BUILD_HOOKS += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
+	$(if $(BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
+		$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_BUILD_CMDS))
+
+LINUX_TOOLS_POST_INSTALL_STAGING_HOOKS += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
+	$(if $(BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
+		$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_INSTALL_STAGING_CMDS))
+
+LINUX_TOOLS_POST_INSTALL_TARGET_HOOKS += $(foreach tool,$(LINUX_TOOLS),\
+	$(if $(BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_TOOLS_$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))),\
+		$(call UPPERCASE,$(tool))_INSTALL_TARGET_CMDS))
+
+$(eval $(generic-package))