Blackburn Rovers manager Gary Bowyer says that he will look to bring in loan players from the Premier League to strengthen his side before the new season, but expects his initial additions to be free transfers.
Rovers failed to put together a convincing push for the play-off positions at the end of the Championship season, with Bowyer's men eventually finishing in ninth, 11 points behind sixth-placed Ipswich Town.
Rovers have profited from loan players in the past
In-demand forward Rudy Gestede and midfielder Tom Cairney are just two of a number of Rovers players to have initially joined the club on short-term loans from the top flight, before establishing themselves permanently in Bowyer's first team.
And, with a limited budget as the club look to hold on to star frontmen Gestede and Jordan Rhodes, the 43-year-old will have to be shrewd in his transfer dealings if he is to return the Lancashire outfit to the Premier League.
Bowyer told the Lancashire Telegraph that free transfers are "a lot easier" to complete than loans at this point of the transfer window, as "decisions have been made by clubs" over who they do and don't want to keep.
The manager went on to say that Premier League clubs would likely be "reluctant" to lose players on loan until they were sure of who they would be able to bring in to replace them.
And, with the transfer window continuing well into the beginning of the Football League season and the first few weeks of top-flight action, Bowyer admits that Championship clubs will have to be "patient" as they look to bring in loan players.
Loan players were a hit in the Championship last term
Loan signings had a large bearing on the outcome of the Championship last season, as a number of top division players proved the stars of their temporary sides.
Chelsea forward Patrick Bamford won the division's Player of the Year award after scoring 17 league goals for Middlesbrough, while their defeated play-off semi-final opponents Brentford were vastly improved by the addition of Tottenham Hotspur youngster Alex Pritchard.
Meanwhile, clubs such as Leeds United and Watford have benefited from close ties to overseas clubs, with a host of Italian being brought in to boost their respective line-ups.