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Liverpool are still waiting to make their first move in the transfer window this summer but they are used to working in the shadows

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes (right) and Fenway Sports Group chief executive of football Michael Edwards

Rarely can the silence have been as deafening from the Liverpool recruitment team than at present. And the longer matters remain quiet, the louder the consternation grows among Reds supporters desperate for new faces to build on the progress of last season.

The most vociferous are perhaps choosing to overlook the now oft-quoted comments of new sporting director Richard Hughes at the start of the month that pointed to a "crescendo" of transfer activity that will only begin building after the next week.

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Having been the first person in his position to directly address the media at a press conference, it would be fair to take those comments at face value. Certainly, time is fast running out for them to be proven wrong.

The clock, though, is also ticking down towards deadline day, now less than six weeks away. And almost a full fortnight before comes Liverpool's Premier League opener at newly-promoted Ipswich Town and a first competitive game under the charge of new head coach Arne Slot.

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With 11 of the Reds' 14 international players yet to return from their summer break to begin pre-season training - there is a chance a handful could link up with the squad during the forthcoming tour of the United States - Slot has yet to gain a full grasp of the personnel at his disposal.

Indeed, the trip to the States - Liverpool fly out on Tuesday ahead of their first game against Real Betis late on Friday night UK time - will be used to further assess any obvious shortcomings in the squad and which areas would benefit from a refresh and strengthening.

It is out of the question the Reds won't have some new signings on board before the August 30 deadline given the already extensive business of some of their near rivals and the need to improve to close the gap on Manchester City and Arsenal after last season's creditable third-place finish.

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And it has, of course, been known for some time Liverpool have been weighing up options at centre-back, defensive midfield and in the wide areas of the attack. Yet the only sign of activity has been the brief pursuit of Lille teenager Leny Yoro, the Reds replicating both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in not following up their initial interest with a bid, Manchester United the only club willing to meet the asking price in excess of £50million for an 18-year-old in the last year of his contract.

Complaints at the lack of outward action are not without substance given Liverpool were already playing catch-up in the transfer market given the changes behind the scenes. But it's maybe worth remembering the identity of one of those new personnel.

Not that Michael Edwards is an unknown quantity to any Reds fans, having spent more than a decade at the club forging a reputation in the transfer market, most notably as sporting director, before leaving in 2022.

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While he has returned to the wider Fenway Sports Group fold as the first chief executive of football for Liverpool's owners, Edwards holds significant influence over the Reds' transfer dealings. Not least because he was a key driver in the appointment of Hughes, with whom he has long had both a friendship and close working relationship.

So it wouldn't be a surprise if Liverpool are choosing to work behind the scenes as much as possible rather than court attention out in the open. It's impossible to keep every transfer under wraps, but the Reds would sooner not become embroiled in lengthy sagas and speculation.

The best example of Liverpool working in the shadows remains the capture of Fabinho from Monaco barely 48 hours after the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev in 2018, addressing a problem position in defensive midfield.

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And even after Edwards had departed, Liverpool continued to do business quickly when required. Witness the swift moves for midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the opening weeks of last summer's transfer window, and the concise manner in which Wataru Endo was bought.

The increasing restraints of time between now and the deadline would suggest by definition the Reds won't be involved in any drawn-out transfer affairs this time around. Instead, speed and opportunism will be of the essence - and in Edwards, Liverpool have a past master in quickly swooping for exactly what's required.