Former Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli wants Mamadou Sakho to join him at Nice, while the Reds reportedly face competition from West Bromwich Albion in the race to sign Schalke star Sead Kolasinac.

Sakho is yet to feature for the Reds in the 2016-17 season and doesn't appear to have any sort of future under manager Jurgen Klopp, who sent the France international back to Liverpool from the American tour in pre-season.

A winter move is expected, and per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, Balotelli hopes the defender follows in his footsteps and joins him at Nice:

I speak with him from time to time.

I said to him: ‘What a waste, a player like you is not playing’.

He has to leave. I said to him: ‘If you want, come to Nice’. I am going to speak to him about it. In January, it would be good.

Per the report, French national team manager Didier Deschamps has also urged Sakho to leave Liverpool, as he needs regular playing time to keep his spot with Les Bleus.

According to Pearce, Sakho refused to leave Liverpool on loan in September, likely because the former Paris Saint-Germain centre-back believed he could convince Klopp and return to the starting XI.

That seems highly unlikely to happen, however―the 26-year-old has trained with the Academy so far and has only played for the Reds' under-23 side.

Football writer Tom McMahon weighed in on the situation, and given the club's success under Klopp, he believes things are unlikely to change:

Sakho remains a gifted, athletic centre-back who can be very effective when he's fully focused, so in all likelihood, there will be plenty of suitors in January. A move to Nice would be an intriguing one―the Ligue 1 side are experts at helping players rebuild their careers, and they've started the 2016-17 campaign on fire.

The aforementioned Balotelli is scoring at an impressive rate as the replacement for Hatem Ben Arfa, who played one season for Nice after a difficult spell in the Premier League and is now plying his trade for Ligue 1 giants PSG.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror (h/t Metro's Coral Barry) reports West Brom will "revive their interest" in Schalke's Kolasinac, the left-back who has been linked with the Reds in recent weeks.

Per the report, the Baggies were put off by Schalke's demands during the summer, as the Gelsenkirchen-based outfit wanted £10 million for the 23-year-old. He has so far refused to sign a new deal with Schalke, however, and with his contract set to expire in the summer, the team could now be open to selling the player in January.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international may not be a well-known name outside of the Bundesliga, but fans of German football are fully aware of his quality. Kolasinac has been outstanding for Schalke this season, and he recently handled Borussia Dortmund star Christian Pulisic rather handily, as shared by Unusual Efforts:

Here's a look at some of his highlights:

Kolasinac is an aggressive full-back with tremendous range and excellent vision. While he's not the most technically refined player in the Bundesliga, his tremendous energy and physicality make him a nightmare to go up against.

Sam McGuire of This is Anfield thinks the Bosnian could be good value as a free signing:

Something that works in the Schalke left-back's favour is the fact the German club, in recent weeks, have been using a 3421 system meaning Kolasinac has been playing in a midfield role and is tasked with keeping the width, similarly to what's expected from the Liverpool full-backs.

[...]

He's by no means perfect and there are areas that could be improved but there are signs there that he's the sort of signing Klopp could mould to suit his system. A free transfer would mean he's effectively a risk free signing.

James Milner has been surprisingly solid as an emergency left-back this season, but the position is still one Klopp will have to address at some point in the future.

Kolasinac isn't a world-class option by any means, but he's a high-energy player who would fit Klopp's system perfectly and wouldn't cost a ton of money, as long as he doesn't sign a new deal with Schalke.