Rafa Benitez says Everton need to move players on before they're able to sign any new ones.
The Toffees boss is an avid fan of Burnley winger Dwight McNeil, while Newcastle's Sean Longstaff, a new right-back and back-up striker are also on his wish-list.
However, the Everton boss told the Liverpool Echo, any incomings the club do manage to secure before the August 31 deadline may not be "ideal solutions".
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Benitez said: "I was clear in one of the last interviews.
"It is a very simple situation. The financial fair play rules are there for us, for everyone, and we have to follow these rules.
"We have to adapt our strategy to that and if we can get rid of players, we can bring players in. We have to be creative and find solutions the best way possible."
Benitez's message is a huge contrast to the bullish approach of his predecessor, Carlo Ancelotti, who said just weeks before he left for Real Madrid: "we can buy without selling players, this is for sure."
The Toffees have already cut some of their playing budget; selling the high-earning Bernard, and the contracts of Theo Walcott, Yannick Bolasie, Mo Besic and Josh King have all expired.
Nonetheless, they need to cut their playing squad further if they're to bring in any more faces.
Benitez said: "I am confident we will do something, maybe not everything, but we will do something.
"The transfer window is not easy for anyone. You can see some teams with a lot of money and others who don't have too much, but I am confident we are working hard to try and find solutions.
"Maybe not the ideal solutions that everybody could be expecting but finding solutions that will give us the chance to improve the squad, improve the team and then be as competitive as we want to be."
