Real Madrid have set their sights on 19-year-old Valencia left-back José Luis Gayà, whom they consider a fantastic prospect for the future.

Despite his tender age, the defender has held down a place in the Valencia first team all season and his superb performances have attracted plenty of big-name suitors along the way - including the reigning European champions.

'Los Blancos' have been tracking the 'Los Che' youth product for some time, but the starlet's display in Real's loss at the Mestalla at the beginning of January was a catalyst for Florentino Pérez to direct the club's transfer gurus to step up this interest.

The youngster is under contract until 2018 but his release clause is just €18m, a bargain for a talent who is already a La Liga regular and has many years of service ahead of him. At least that's the way they see things at the Bernabéu, where many have compared the potential signing of Gayà with the long-term view that saw Sergio Ramos snapped up back in 2005. Few would dispute that the bumper deal to bring in Ramos from Sevilla has proven to be value for money.

Real have received rave reviews about Gayà, both as a player and as a person. One of the factors that has been highlighted is the teenager's maturity and dedication - as exemplified by the fact that the full-back used to make the 200-kilometre trip from his native Pedreguer, in Alicante, to Valencia every day in order to pursue his footballing dream.