Phoenix Rising is set to sign a new forward in the near future, according to coach Rick Schantz.

Schantz made the comments in his weekly press conference after facing questions over replacing Rufat Dadashov, who recently left the team for Schalke II.

“We’re in the process, and more exciting news for you guys,” he said. “I know that we’re just waiting on some paperwork to be finalized, but I’m excited about the player that we’ve added. It’s going to be great for the team, and great for the locker room because some of the guys know him.”

Schantz’s comments marked a departure from his previous statement on Saturday, where he acted dismissively towards suggestions that his side would act quickly to replace the Azerbaijani striker.

“We have to find the right players, and that takes time,” he said after the last match. “We want to find guys that are explosive, guys that are dynamic, guys that can create things for us, but also guys that really want to be here. When we find them, they’ll be here.”

Any new striker will have to compete for the starting spot with David Egbo, who is currently in Phoenix on loan from Vancouver Whitecaps. The 22-year-old began the match up top against Orange County, but failed to record a single shot on or off target.

“He knows that I evaluate him on one thing, and one thing only,” Schantz said. “That’s scoring goals and being in position to score goals, and he didn’t do it, so he was upset. He didn’t want to come out, but I think he understood why we made the change and what we were trying to do. It was an emergency moment. But again, he’s another player that’s young and learning and improving every day, and he’s going to be fine.”

After suggesting previously that Egbo wasn’t a natural in the role set out for him, Rising’s coach rejected the idea that the side could make tactical changes as a result.

“He has to learn to play the way we want him to,” Schantz said. “When we say target 9, he’s got the size and the power to do it. It’s the desire or the willingness to just be patient. What a lot of people don’t understand is when you come back or you make a lot of runs as a forward, someone else has to move into the space that you’ve vacated. We don’t really design our team that way.

“It’s just learning. He knows. He’s going to quickly understand over time that he can do a lot more for us just playing, what we say, between the six yard box and being patient and keeping those center-backs occupied because early in the game, he did a really good job of occupying the center-backs.”

Rising next faces Sacramento Republic at Wild Horse Pass on Saturday.

Want to hear more? Preview Saturday’s game with Rising Matchday – streaming at 9 a.m. Saturday morning on YouTube and Facebook, and available on demand shortly after.