AC Milan general manager Adriano Galliani has ruled out making any big signings this winter as the delay over the takeover of the club means his hands are tied.
The consortium of Chinese investors keen on buying out Silvio Berlusconi's majority stake in Milan have been given an extension until early March to transfer the funds to complete their takeover after already paying two separate deposits of €100 million each.
As a result, the Serie A club remain in limbo and Galliani admits it will be tough for him to scour the market for transfer targets since he does not know what he can spend.
"I can categorically rule out any big signings in January," Galliani is quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's very complex.
"It's difficult to keep on top of two different heads -- I have to conduct negotiations, bring them to a conclusion and then ask for authorisation. But you have to be quick on the market, and first we need to sell before we can buy."
Milan, who currently sit fifth in Serie A, next face leaders Juventus in the Italian Supercoppa in Doha on Friday, and Galliani is quietly confident of his club's chances.
"We lost a league game against them that we played on a par with them, then we lost the final of the Coppa Italia which we also played on a par with them," he said. "In autumn, we beat them in another even game and so now I hope this balance will remain, maybe with the result from our last meeting.
"I think we have a 50 percent chance. In terms of our football, I have not seen a great difference."