Recently-appointed Hull manager Marco Silva says new signings are needed quickly amid talk of Everton outcast Oumar Niasse arriving.

Hampered by instability off the field, injuries and a small squad, the Tigers sit bottom of the Premier League following a turbulent top-flight return.

Silva, formerly of Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos, surprisingly replaced Mike Phelan last week as City bid to avert the drop, with the Portuguese quick to point out that acquisitions are necessary this month.

Everton forward Niasse, a £13.5m signing last January that has been frozen out by Ronald Koeman, is reportedly close to moving to the KCOM Stadium on loan, but Silva would not be drawn on reports.

"We will see," the Hull boss said. "I will only talk about transfers, about new players, only when these players sign for the club. If it is true or not, it is impossible for me to say.

"Of course we are interested in a lot of players and we will see what is possible or not, but at the moment I don't want to talk about players from other teams.

"I hope we can sign players this week, we will see. We need, we need.

"I work two training sessions with 13-15 players and we will see how many I have today.

"We need to do something fast because if you need to be more competitive against the others and improve, we must do something fast. Really fast."

Silva, speaking ahead of Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final at Manchester United, also warned off those interested in star turn Robert Snodgrass.

Hull last week turned down a bid from West Ham, believed to be a risible £3million, just days after triggering a one-year contract extension in the Scotland international's deal.

"At the moment, I only think how to improve my team," Silva said. "I don't want to lose players, to lose our important players.

"I hope he continues with us because he is an important player for us."