And Barnes believes the Reds should do their utmost to sign the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder, although he added that defensive recruitments remain a priority for the club.
"It's not important who leaves, but who comes in," Barnes told the London Evening Standard.
Mario Gotze - 5 things you need to know
"We need strengthening at the back. If the opportunity to get Mario Gotze comes, we have to take it because we have to take quality where we can get it.
"We must improve defensively, so [we need to sign] a centre-back, full-back and maybe another goalkeeper.
"If the quality is available to us in terms of a player like Gotze, we can't say no."
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