rewrite this title Xabi Alonso responds to reports of Jonathan Tah talks with Barcelona

Xabi Alonso insists Bayer Leverkusen are not focusing on reports that key defender Jonathan Tah is already in advanced talks with Barcelona over a potential summer move.

Tah is coming to the end of his contract with the Bundesliga champions, having been heavily linked with a transfer last summer amid interest from domestic rivals Bayern Munich.

Having revealed in September that he does not plan to sign a new contract with Leverkusen, there is still no indication that Tah intends to extend his deal, joining in 2015 from Hamburg while still a teenager. He can lock in a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs from the start of January, which is now little more than three weeks away.

But while Tah remains a Leverkusen player, Alonso is only interested in the here and now.

“I’m not worried about that at the moment,” he told reporters when the subject of Tah’s uncertain future was raised over the weekend.

“We’re happy that Jona is with us this season. His attitude is top notch, he has a big influence on our game. We need him until the very last day. Then we’ll see what happens in the future. The summer is still too far away for me.

“It’s no surprise, we spoke very honestly in the summer. He is a top-level leader and his level is getting better and better. Now we are happy that he is with us.”

In Pini Zahavi, Tah already shares an agent with Barca boss Hansi Flick, which some may see as strengthening the possibility he chooses Catalonia amid talk of fresh rival interest from Bayern.

Bayern ultimately pulled back from a move ahead of this season due to Leverkusen asking €30m for the centre-back. That fee was also prohibitive for Barcelona, who are still in the constraints of severe financial limitations until they finally raise the income to return to 1:1 La Liga spending rules.

That is reported to be close to happening, although it is worth noting that repeated claims have been made on that front by the Spanish media since the summer.

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