Lee Johnson expects Sunderland to be 'active' in the transfer market before Tuesday's deadline - and says the Black Cats are currently in discussions with 'high quality' targets and their clubs.
Sunderland have already signed seven new players this summer, with Alex Pritchard, Corry Evans, Dennis Cirkin, and Niall Huggins, joining on a permanent basis, while Callum Doyle, Nathan Broadhead, and Frederik Alves, have arrived on loan from Premier League sides.
But Johnson is still keen to recruit one or two more players to fill key positions, with another full-back, a striker, and possible another goalkeeper on his wish-list.
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The transfer window will close at 11pm on Tuesday, August 31, and Sunderland are trying to bring in more recruits although Johnson admits the quality of player he is looking for makes it difficult to complete deals.
"I think we will still be active - we are certainly still in the market - but your options narrow because of the quality required," he said.
"You also want players that have had a pre-season rather than players who have been sat doing nothing over that period of time.
"We can only use a certain amount of loans and we are determined to use those loans potentially with an obligation at the back end of it - so we would always take a development player on loan that we believe we could turn into a permanent [transfer]. albeit in exceptional circumstances sometimes you can't.
"There are a couple of options, obviously the free transfer market which extends past the window, or the trading market where you might swap or loan players or pay a transfer fee.
"We are on it, and we are having active conversations with potential recruits and their clubs, but I can't guarantee that any of those will fall into place because they are high quality players and that makes it very hard to do."
Johnson says the addition of more new signings would elevate what he says is already a 'very, very, good window' into an 'outstanding' one.
But if they are unable to land any more new players this month, he is happy with the squad he currently has and the hunt for reinforcements will resume in January.
He said: "If this is the squad we go with between now and January, I think it has been a very, very good window.
"If we get the players [we are talking to] in, it will have been an outstanding window, because I know how good the players are that we're looking at.
"It will be a sterling job if we do manage to get them in.
"But I'm happy with the balance and the blend that we've got when everyone is fit.
"We've got a nice experienced core, a lot of young players performing well.
I think we are still a long way off where we can be, but that's really exciting in itself."
Johnson also referenced the change in direction in the club's recruitment strategy, concentrating on bringing in younger players.
Of the newcomers, five are 23 and under, and two of those are teenagers - Doyle (17), Cirkin (19), Huggins (20), Alves (21), and Broadhead (23) - with Pritchard (28) and Evans (31) adding some experience.
"It's early days, but you never get a second chance to make a first impression," Johnson said of his new signings.
"Generally, the new players have done well and I think the fans have got used to a change in tack in terms of the age range that the club has been buying and it has been really encouraging.
"There are going to be times when those young players fall short, that's the nature of the beast, and that will be the real test for us and for the unity within the club.
"But I've been really pleased with them, and with the personalities we have brought in."
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