Borussia Dortmund identifiy Liverpool target as Sancho replacement

Borussia Dortmund are leading their Premier League counterparts in the race to sign Valencia winger Ferran Torres, claims The Independent.

Torres has quickly emerged as one of the most sought after prospects in European football over the last few weeks, with Liverpool among those keen on his signature.

Liverpool have been monitoring Torres' development for some time now and are keen to step up their pursuit in the 20-year-old for next season.

However, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp now faces stiff competition for his signature from former club Dortmund and the Bundesliga side believe they have the edge over their old manager.

With Jadon Sancho expected to return to the Premier League, Dortmund are already on the look out for his replacment and hope to unearth another red hot prospect.

Dortmund have already shown they can beat Europe's elite clubs to the best young talent after Erling Haaland joined them over Manchester United in January.

They can not match wages on offer from the likes of United and Liverpool but they can guarantee regular playing time, which Torres would not be assured off at Anfield.

After being eased into the first-team picture at Valencia in each of the last two campaigns, Torres has emerged as a first-team regular at the Mestalla this season with 20 league starts to his name.

Not only is Torres a regular in LaLiga but he also started five of Valencia's eight Champions League matches this season and reserved his best performances for that competition.

Torres has scored twice and registered as many assists in his six appearances in the Champions League and his WhoScored rating in this season's competition is 7.47 compared to 6.85 in LaLiga.