Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain has revealed that any spending by the club during the January transfer window will be "very, very limited".
The Black Cats currently sit bottom of the Premier League table and have a number of key players out of action, including Jack Rodwell, Paddy McNair and Duncan Watmore.
With American owner Ellis Short actively looking to sell the club and Sunderland on the cusp of Financial Fair Play regulations, Bain warned that any additions to David Moyes's squad will be brought in on a shoestring budget.
Bain told Sky Sports News: "No transfer window pans out exactly how you expect it to, so who knows what will happen. But sitting here as we are today, I can say we are going to be very, very limited in being able to do anything [in January].
"Where you are shopping is dictated on how much you have to spend. We are very limited in that aspect. We have to make sure we are fishing in the right markets with certain principles and policies in place.
"Is there potential we could go through that window without buying a player? My clear message for the Sunderland fans is that we are going to be very limited in terms of what we can do in that window and together with the fans we have to be accepting in that fact and rally round with what we have and make sure we do our absolute utmost."
Sunderland host table-topping Chelsea on Wednesday night looking to lift themselves off the foot of the table.
