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Barcelona were linked with Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum for most of the summer but they failed to get a deal over the line.
Blaugrana manager Ronald Koeman had reportedly made the Netherlands international one of his primary targets in his first transfer window but later came out to state that the club were limited by financial constraints.
Wijnaldum has less than a year to run on his current deal with Liverpool and is currently at an impasse with the club, meaning that he would be free to discuss pre-contract terms with Barcelona as soon as January.
The 30-year-old joined the Premier League champions from Newcastle United in 2016 and has since become one of the most integral units to the club's success under Jurgen Klopp, making more appearances than any other player since he arrived at Anfield.
Given his importance, the Reds manager is desperate to keep him at Anfield, but the former PSV man has been unable to agree to new terms and has not publicly committed his future to the club, telling reporters in Holland:
''I can’t say anything about that. Just ask Liverpool those questions. Don’t they answer? I cannot say anything about it, including whether or not there is talk of a new contract between me and Liverpool. Sorry.”
His comments are sure to give Barcelona hope in their quest to sign the combative midfielder, coupled with the expiration of a strange clause in Coutinho's contract.
The strange clause Liverpool included in Coutinho's contract when selling him to Barcelona
The Blaugrana had signed the Brazil international in January 2018 for a club-record fee. In the contract, Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards placed a €100m premium if the Catalan giants tried to sign another Liverpool player before 2020.
This might have played a role in cooling the interest of Barcelona in Wijnaldum but reports have revealed that the clause expired at the end of the summer window in 2020.
This means that the Spanish giants can go ahead with their interest for any Liverpool player from January onwards, and they might renew their interest in Gini Wijnaldum.
Barcelona got back to winning ways with a comprehensive 4-0 victory away to Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League, while Liverpool fell to a 2-0 defeat at home to Atalanta.
Up next for the Reds will be a trip to The Amex to take on Brighton, while the Blaugrana will welcome Osasuna to Camp Nou in LaLiga.
