Andoni Iraola has broken his silence on Liverpool's future after the exit of Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, speaking frankly about the club's struggle to find a replacement capable of filling the enormous void the Pharaoh has left at Anfield.
Salah decided to walk away from Liverpool last June, a year before his contract expired, in a shocking move that ended with him joining Turkish club Trabzonspor. His departure has torn a huge gap in the Reds' front line.
Since then, Liverpool have been linked with more than one name to succeed him. Chief among them is French star Bradley Barcola, the Paris Saint-Germain winger, with press reports suggesting the English club are close to sealing a 120 million pound deal.
Iraola faced questions on the latest developments in this thorny matter during an exclusive interview with club legend Steven Gerrard for the English channel TNT Sports. His response carried plenty of anticipation. "I hope we are close, especially as we have only four or five days left in the summer transfer window," he said.
The Reds' manager added: "We have been patient so far, and I think we need more of it too, but there is a lot already in motion. We hope to announce things quickly because that position was among our priorities, especially after Mohamed Salah's departure."
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He signed off by underlining the scale of the challenge facing the club. "Everyone realises we have a big void that we must fill. That was the main focus of our attention in the current transfer market."
Liverpool's fans remain on tenterhooks, awaiting the official announcement of Salah's successor before the summer window closes.