From Spain: Man Utd now in pole position to sign 'outstanding' colossus this summer - report

Manchester United are now the leading contenders to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres, according to reports in Spain (via Sport Witness). 

Coming through the ranks at Villarreal, Torres spent time on loan at Malaga before becoming an established member of the first team with his hometown club.

The 25-year-old has now made 134 senior outings for the La Liga side and was an integral part of the run to Europa League final glory as Unai Emery’s charges overcame Manchester United on penalties.

He was then impactful in Europe again this season as the Yellow Submarine made a surprise breakthrough into the semi-finals of the Champions League, as Torres registered the most clearances of any of his teammates in that competition.

Despite being heavily linked to Tottenham and Chelsea, the Red Devils are now emerging as frontrunners to sign the Spain international…

As per La Razon, translated by SW, United are now the ‘great favourite’ to land Torres this summer ahead of their domestic rivals.

It’s claimed that the Old Trafford club are ‘willing to put’ a €50million (£42.5million) offer on the table to bring the man recently hailed for an ‘outstanding’ performance against Bayern Munich in that famous UCL run.

The report also makes mention of the interest from Tottenham, with Giovani Lo Celso potentially being used as a makeweight in any deal.

The defensive department is well stocked in terms of numbers with Eric Bailly, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane in situ as senior options. However, a combination of poor form and injuries last season saw the various central defensive partnerships leave a lot to be desired.

Torres meanwhile, dubbed ‘sensational‘ by Luis Enrique, continued to flourish in Spain this year, earning