Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has revealed that the club are still working to identify new transfer targets before the end of the current window.
The Potters have so far brought in Darren Fletcher, Josh Tymon and Tre Pemberton in permanent deals this summer, while also signing Kurt Zouma from Chelsea on a season-long loan.
Coates acknowledged that his side are unable to compete with the Premier League's top six in the transfer market, but hopes to be competitive in their search for a top-half finish next season.
"We are still looking to improve the squad before the transfer window closes, we are in the market and it's trying to find the right players that suit your club on terms you can afford," he told talkSPORT.
"We want to be competitive, we have sort of been in that mid-table area and we are always trying to get better, everyone wants to do well, every club wants to get better and we are no different.
"The top six clubs – their economic model is so far ahead of the rest of us. You have to be realistic about it. Everton have [spent big], but they had a huge windfall on [Romelu] Lukaku so what you have to look at is net spend, that is the critical factor."
Stoke have also let Marko Arnautovic, Jonathan Walters, Shay Given and Glenn Whelan leave the club so far this summer.
Barney Corkhill
