Philippe Coutinho has missed Liverpool’s trip to Dubai as he aims to seal a move to Barcelona.
Coutinho missed the Reds’ FA Cup third round win over Everton on Friday through injury and omitted to join his teammates on the club’s mid-season break.
Anfield officials are continuing to try and convince the Brazil international to defer his hopes of moving to the Nou Camp until the end of the season at least.
Reports in Spain suggest that Barca are expected to finalise their pursuit of Coutinho in the coming days with a deal worth £142 million overall.
The Catalans previously failed in their attempts to land the 25-year-old last summer, when they saw three offers all rejected outright by Liverpool.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde again refused to be drawn on interest in Coutinho when speaking ahead of his side’s La Liga game with Levante.
“He is a great player, just like there are great players who ask me permanently, I admit it,” said Valverde.
“But what I like is to value what I have, nobody has been signed in.
“It does not mean that we do not value the great players who there is for the world, but we also have great players.
“The fans what they want, apart from good players, is that their team wins and plays well, that is, from my perspective, what we can give.
“The other, I am not such a Wizard King as to promise that.”