Liverpool transfer news as $39m bid made and Virgil van Dijk contract plan emerges

Liverpool transfer activity is showing signs of ramping up. At the moment, the outgoings column is still the only one to have seen any action, but the Reds look to be preparing to spend what they have earned after submitting an offer of up to $39 million for one target .

The transfer kitty has already been swelled by the sale of Fabio Carvalho for up to $36m (£27.5m/€32m). While there's no indication whatsoever that FSG needs to sell in order to buy, Liverpool's bank balance could be further enhanced by the sale of Sepp van den Berg , with a deal worth at least $26m (£20m/€22m) now thought to be close .

The future of Joe Gomez is also in doubt, after he was left out of the opening Premier League squad in order to explore transfer options. With Virgil van Dijk now into the last year of his contract for good measure, Liverpool may well want to take a look at signing a center-back before the summer is out.

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And that's not the only area where Arne Slot could make an addition as deadline day looms. Here is the Liverpool.com verdict on the transfer gossip to emerge around the Reds today.

Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP)

Liverpool's actions in the remainder of the summer transfer window could give a clue to Van Dijk's future, reports Caught Offside . The club is weighing up a move for Goncalo Inacio, but may decide to hold off on recruitment if it believes the captain is going to sign an extension to his contract.

Van Dijk's current deal expires next summer. Should Liverpool expect him to leave on a free transfer, it would ideally sign a defender now, with Inacio high up the list of options. But Liverpool's preferred scenario involves Van Dijk staying "a bit longer". In that case, a move for someone like Inacio could wait.

The immediate future of Gomez at the club also has a bearing on the decision. He was left out of the squad against Ipswich Town as he considers his options, and his departure could make a move for someone like Inacio more likely.

Liverpool also has Gleison Bremer and Antonio Silva on its radar in the event that it needs to make a signing at center-back sooner rather than later. But with Bremer having signed a new deal with Juventus earlier this summer, that move looks unlikely.

Liverpool.com says: An extension for Van Dijk would make the center-back situation look a little better. But Liverpool could probably do with strengthening regardless, especially if Gomez leaves. I brahima Konate is a known injury risk. Take him and Gomez out of the equation, and it's just Van Dijk and Jarell Quansah left, with that area of the pitch suddenly looking a little threadbare.

Inacio isn't the perfect answer, or else Liverpool would have gone for him already. But if he is willing to come in without immediate assurances of game time, then he does have a lot going for him.

Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia)

Liverpool is close to a deal for Giorgi Mamardashvili . It's thought that the Valencia goalkeeper will sign ahead of officially coming to Anfield in 2025.

But what about the terms of the deal? According to Relevo , the gap in valuations between the parties has been bridged through a combination of a fixed fee and add-ons. At the request of Valencia, Liverpool has supposedly put together a bid that offers more of the payment as a guaranteed sum with its latest offer. It will pay $33m (£26m/€30m) up-front.

Add-ons could then take the deal to $39m (£30m/€35m). Notably, that's the initial Valencia asking price minus €5m - the loan fee that would have been payable by Bournemouth if Mamardashvili had gone on loan there rather than staying at the Mestalla. It's thought that this bid will be enough to secure a deal.

Liverpool.com says: This seems like a very fair deal. And ultimately, cutting Bournemouth out made sense; Premier League rules would have prohibited Liverpool from signing Marmardashvili and loaning him straight out to another side in the division, so Valencia would have had to organize the loan itself before officially selling to the Reds the following year.

It all seemed a bit needlessly convoluted. And Marmardashvili will now get the benefit of a familiar environment for another year of development.