Hull City head coach Marco Silva is hopeful a deal to bring in forrward Oumar Niasse from Everton until the end of the season can be completed soon.
Hull were unable to name a full complement of substitutes for Tuesday's 2-0 loss in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final at Manchester United, due to a raft of injury problems for an already undermanned squad.
Niasse has endured a nightmare spell at Everton, starting only two Premier League games after joining from Lokomotiv Moscow on deadline day last February, before being frozen out of the first-team picture when Ronald Koeman replaced Roberto Martinez as manager.
The Premier League's bottom club represent the prospect of a fresh start for the 26-year-old Senegal international and reports before the match at Old Trafford suggested Hull had agreed a temporary switch containing a £10million option to buy at the end of the season.
Asked whether the transfer was close to completion, Silva told a post-match news conference: "We'll see. We'll see when it's possible for him to start training with us."
The former Sporting CP and Olympiakos boss is also keen to retain influential midfielder Robert Snodgrass despite speculation regarding an improved offer from West Ham.
"I hope no [he won't leave]," Silva said. "Really, I hope no. We need to improve our squad."
The numbers in his playing group took another hit after Markus Henriksen and youngster Josh Tymon left the action at United through injury.
Silva confirmed midfielder Henriksen's problem was "probably more serious" after he landed awkwardly following a challenge with Paul Pogba and damaged his shoulder, while Tymon's late withdrawal was "just a kick, nothing serious".
Hull host Bournemouth in search of a first win since November on Saturday and the recently installed Silva, who had his name sung by the travelling supporters at Old Trafford for long spells, added: "We had many problems to solve during the last days, and I'm very happy with the performance.
"Obviously I'm not happy with the result but I am with the performances.
"We only had players on the bench from the academy. But we need to be positive because we need to keep this club in the Premier League.
"The next game for us is the most important game for us. We need to rest our players to give them a recovery. We need to win points for our fans."
