It's not rocket science to work out that Watford have been left wanting in certain areas of the pitch.

The Hornets are short in attack, even shorter on the wing and have precious little genuine competition at left-back and in goal.

At the start of the summer, a new head coach and renewed optimism had us all wondering whether Watford might give Liverpool a run for their money on the opening day.

But even if Coutinho's long-awaited move to Barcelona for a ludicrous sum goes through, it's the kind of match a boxing referee would be stepping into when you look at the respective squads.

If Watford were a house, the foundations would have been laid but the builders should be mowing the lawn outside by now, not still hammering wood panels into the roof to keep the rain out.

While five signings might look a decent amount at this stage to outsiders, it's painfully clear where Watford still need to improve.

It was highlighted so plainly on Saturday, and last week against Aston Villa, that Silva's current attacking options will leave the Hornets toothless in a punishing Premier League if additions don't follow imminently.

Having Roberto Pereyra back is a huge boost, and he's showed his class already in fleeting pre-season appearances - but he's a second sharper than most of those around him. He can't do it all on his own.

If the Hornets can get the Richarlison deal over the line this week, then great - he's match-fit and clearly has quality. Given the current options of Stefano Okaka or Jerome Sinclair up front, he might even be worth throwing in the deep end on Saturday afternoon.

He'll need more service than just what Pereyra can provide, too. Out wide Watford have little resembling quality. Nordin Amrabat is a Silva player in terms of his workrate, but not in terms of his delivery, in all senses of the word.

Watford have cast their eye over a host of wingers this summer, but as yet they're in a worse position than they started after Steven Berghuis left for Feyenoord last week.

Add in competition at left-back, centre-half and in goal, and the squad is a long way from being ready to compete over a 38-game season given the money flying around most other clubs.

It's not quite time to panic but there is a lot of work to be done over the next three weeks. And when signings do arrive, which they probably will, they'll need time to bed in and get up to speed on Silva's way of doing things.

We've already seen him giving on-the-pitch grillings to players before and after games about how he wants them to play - the 39-year-old is a man who wants his teams well-drilled. But that takes time, and leaving signings until late in the window robs him of it.

Silva himself has said he wants new players in 'as soon as possible' - and of course he does - but the fact he has had to make his feelings clear in public so early on is troubling.

It's impossible to know quite what is behind the delay. Watford have chased numerous good-quality targets throughout the summer, but haven't brought anyone through the door since Nathaniel Chalobah on July 13.

On paper, August is a very favourable month for the Hornets, but it won't be if they don't assemble get a squad capable of competing sooner rather than later. The good work of the early summer is in danger of being undone if it's not continued.

Outgoings need to be addressed too - the Hornets squad is already at its 25-man maximum, but Valon Behrami and Giedrius Arlauskis are expected to miss out, taking the size down to 23.

And with restrictions in place over the number of homegrown players required, any additions would need to have been British-based during their early careers.

Etienne Capoue was a second-half substitute on Saturday, but there is no smoke without fire over his sudden absence from the starting line-up after a reported bust-up with Silva.

From first-team regular last season, the Frenchman has found himself increasingly expendable, and so too could one of the Hornets' centre-backs be if Aymen Abdennour joins, although there has been little movement on Watford's bid to bring him to Vicarage Road from Valencia.

Looking back over the summer and the optimism when Silva's name was announced in June, there was, and still is, a real opportunity to push on this season and do more than "just be happy to survive", as CEO and chairman Scott Duxbury pointed out on the final day of 2016/17.

But unless that good work behind the scenes comes to fruition by August 31 - if not before - it could well prove an opportunity sadly missed.