Swansea City are still looking to tie up several loose ends before Tuesday night's transfer deadline, with a centre-back appearing the most urgent item on the list.
Vitor Matos compared doing business in this window to "playing a chess match in a storm" after the 0-0 draw with Sheffield United at the weekend. It was a position Matos wanted to strengthen even before the potential season-ending injury to Cameron Burgess.
Now, with Ben Cabango also a concern, although the extent of his injury is not yet known, the need for reinforcements at the heart of his defence has been heightened.
Centre-back search intensifies
Names have already been linked, including Wrexham's Conor Coady, although that link was quickly shut down by club insiders. A permanent deal, on the right terms, would clearly be the preferred option, but some feel Matos should consider dipping into the loan market for a solution.
Speaking to the BBC, Swans hero Lee Trundle said: "Because of the injuries to Cabango and Burgess, who is out long term, Swansea will have to get a better calibre of player in.
"If you've already got them [available], and you're wanting a bit of cover, you can just go and get someone that would be happy to be on the bench. Now, they have to go and get a proper centre-half."
Midfield and striker questions
Getting at least one centre-back in would be a big piece in what would be the dream end to their transfer window, as would a new midfielder. The Swans had reportedly made an ambitious swoop for Valencia's Andre Almeida, but the suggestion in Spain is Celta Vigo is now the more likely option. Ousseynou Fall Seck was another name Swansea looked at, but he also looks more likely to go elsewhere.
Adding another central midfield option would be a welcome boost, with Matos keen on adding a little more creativity in the middle. There are no such concerns over the level of depth up front.
Matos has seemingly dismissed suggestions Ross Stewart's capture is some sort of tacit admission that Zan Vipotnik is on his way in this window. The Slovenian is on the radar of a number of clubs, with Hull City seeing a £10m bid knocked back earlier in the window.
Potential departures
Swansea are understood to be looking for roughly double that amount before they entertain the idea of selling. So far, no one has shown any willingness to meet those demands.
If a club were to offer that sort of money, it might not feel like the worst development given it would bring Swansea's coffers a welcome boost. In an ideal world, a club always wants to keep its best players, and keeping Vipotnik, Stewart and Adam Idah happy would give Swansea a stock of Championship strikers that would be the envy of many rivals.
There are players Swansea would like to move on, however. Florian Bianchini does not look like he has a future under Matos, who suggested earlier this week that the winger might need to leave the club to get his career back on track. The ideal scenario would be if a club came in and offered a package to take him away permanently, although whether Swansea would recoup much of the near £2m fee they spent on him is another question.
Offers for players like Ronald and Zeidane Inoussa might also be considered, but given the demands of the Championship, Matos might well feel there is little harm in keeping both players around for the upcoming campaign.
