By Keith Idec

Maybe Manny Pacquiao will fight Amir Khan next after all.

The Filipino superstar posted a message on his official Facebook page Wednesday night and then from his verified Twitter account that he is in negotiations to fight Khan next.

The messages from both accounts were identical: My team and I are in negotiations with Amir Khan for our next fight. Further announcement coming soon. #TeamPacquiao

The post was accompanied by a picture of Pacquiao and Khan posed together, each holding up a fist.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, denied earlier this week that Khan could become Pacquiao’s next opponent. Arum has been negotiating with Duco Events to have Pacquiao fight Australia’s Jeff Horn on April 22 in Brisbane, Australia, Horn’s hometown.

Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, has said, however, that Pacquiao’s next fight will take place in the United Arab Emirates, either in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Fighting Khan would make more sense if the fight is held in UAE, a predominantly Muslim nation, because Khan, though born and raised in England, is a devout Muslim of Pakistani descent.

The 38-year-old Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs), the WBO welterweight champion, also posted a poll to his Twitter account February 12, which asked fans who he should fight next. The 30-year-old Khan won the poll handily.

The former IBF/WBA junior welterweight champion received 48 percent of the votes. England’s Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs), the IBF welterweight champion, finished second in the poll, with 24 percent of the votes.

Terence Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs), the WBC/WBO super lightweight champion, was the third-place finisher, with 21 percent of the votes. The unknown Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs), the No. 2 contender for Pacquiao’s 147-pound championship, finished last and received just 7 percent of the votes.

A total of 44,815 people voted before Pacquiao closed the poll after 24 hours.

Brook is unavailable for Pacquiao’s next bout because he is scheduled to make a mandatory defense of his title against DeSoto, Texas’ Errol Spence Jr. (21-0, 18 KOs) on May 20 in Sheffield, England. Arum also has said Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford won’t be considered for a Pacquiao fight until later this year.

Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) hasn’t fought since Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) knocked him unconscious in the sixth round of their middleweight title fight May 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.