Liverpool have moved into 'pole position ahead of Barcelona to sign Renato Sanches'

Liverpool are set to win the race to sign Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches ahead of rivals Barcelona.

The 23-year-old is expected to leave French champions Lille this summer, where he was a key player in their title success after reigniting his career following a terrible loan spell at Bayern Munich.

Lille have set a £40million price tag on Sanches, and Liverpool are in 'pole position' to buy the midfielder given Barcelona's well-documented financial crisis, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Premier League fans may remember Sanches during his short period at Swansea, where he infamously passed the ball to an advertising hoarding. But he was one of Portugal's top performers at Euro 2020 off the back of his excellent season for Lille.

Should he arrive on Merseyside, Sanches would only be Jurgen Klopp's second signing of the transfer window after Ibrahima Konate joined for £36million much earlier in the summer.

But the Liverpool manager hinted that more signings may arrive before the window shuts on 31 August in a potential late flurry of activity at Anfield.

Speaking after Liverpool's 1-1 friendly draw with Athletic Bilbao, Klopp said: 'I am very happy with the squad, but it doesn't mean that we don't look at the market.

'We have a big squad and there might be something happening until the end of the transfer window, but I cannot say anything about that at the moment.'

Another name being linked with Liverpool is electric young winger Jeremy Doku, who Rennes signed just one season ago for £24m from Anderlecht.

The French side could accept an offer of £38m for the 19-year-old Belgian, according to Dutch media outlet Voetbal24, and Liverpool are considering a move for Doku as a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah.