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Barcelona is reported to have held shock talks with Ibrahima Konate's inner circle amid his uncertain contract situation at Liverpool.
Konate's current Liverpool deal is due to expire at the end of this season, when he will be free to leave Anfield for nothing. Liverpool will be keen to avoid that happening after seeing Trent Alexander-Arnold join Real Madrid for a small fee in June, despite having a huge market value.
Konate has also been linked with Madrid, but Sempre Barca reports that Barca could also be a destination for Konate, with talks reportedly having taken place between the Catalan club and the Frenchman's representatives.
It is reported that Konate is not opposed to the idea of moving to Barca, which recently saw Inigo Martinez leave to join Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.
It is claimed that Barca will only move for Konate if it receives encouragement from Liverpool over the 26-year-old's availability.
Liverpool would reportedly demand around $60 million for Konate were he to be sold, but it is reported that the player's priority remains to resolve his contract situation at Anfield, so it sounds as though a move to Barca is currently unlikely.
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk reports that Liverpool is preparing a second bid for Alexander Isak amid the Sweden striker's clear desire to move to Merseyside.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said that the door is open for Isak to return to the fold, despite the player wanting to leave the St. James' Park club.
Isak has not trained with his Newcastle teammates since before the club's pre-season tour of China, which he ruled himself out of.
The official reason for Isak's absence from the tour was that he was dealing with a fitness concern, but it quickly emerged that he wanted to explore the possibility of leaving Newcastle, amid interest from Liverpool.
Isak has been forced to train alone over the last fortnight, and he was absent as Newcastle opened its Premier League campaign with a goalless draw against Aston Villa.
Howe addressed the Isak situation following the game at Villa Park, saying: “We would like a resolution,” he said. “When I say we, I’m talking about myself and I’m sure the ownership, everyone really, the players that we have, because I think we need that clarity this season.
“Any Premier League season can be hard enough. You don’t need any kind of distraction to swerve your thoughts, to unbalance what we’re doing.
“But I’m certainly not in control of that. And I think there’s only one person really that could control that. Nothing’s changed, the door is well and truly open. But he has to decide what he wants to do.
“I mean, that’s the quickest way. But of course, Alex is in control of what he does. I’m not in control of him.”
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