David Moyes says people would laugh at the players West Ham United have targeted this summer.
Emerson Palmieri became West Ham's seventh signing of the summer this week, with the Hammers sending £15m to Chelsea for his signature.
Moyes said: "We've bid for a lot of players and if I told you who, you would burst out laughing and say: 'You're kidding.'
"Maybe we've tried to go way above our station, but we have tried to get really top players because I knew we needed it.
"A couple of top players coming in would give everyone a lift and help ease the pressure on Declan Rice, Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek."
On the complexities of trying to get deals done, Moyes said: "It's been a very difficult market. We've found the agents really difficult and very, very expensive to get that side of the deal done.
"So much is getting added on to things now. If the real world knew where it was going, and what was happening, it would be a shock."
