Zubi driving Barcelona to beat Real Madrid for Fernando Llorente

Barcelona are moving to trump Real Madrid for Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente.

Llorente has long been a favourite of Real president Florentino Perez.

However, Sport says Barca sports chief Andoni Zubizarreta and his staff have been working discreetly over recent weeks on a deal for Llorente.

Llorente has emerged as a top target for Zubi as the club plans a change of playing system with Pep Guardiola now leaving. The intention is to take the goal scoring burden away from Lionel Messi and add a centre-forward to their attacking structure under Tito Vilanova.