Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has refused to rule at least one new signing but reiterated the need to offload players to help balance the books.
Transfer business has remained quiet at Ashton Gate with the club yet to see a senior arrival or departure with just under two weeks remaining of the window.
It remains no secret that money is tight, particularly after posting record losses of £38.4m, but Pearson was eager to emphasise that the financial shackles doesn't necessarily mean business can't be done this month.
Pearson and CEO Richard Gould hold weekly meetings to run the rule over potential deals and to discuss whether the players they want to bring in are 'doable.'
City have been linked with a move for Wolves defender Dion Sanderson on loan following Pearson's revelation that centre-back Nathan Baker is likely to be out until the end of the season.
Although any potential deal for Sanderson is likely to come at the end of the window due to Romain Saiss' involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations.
When quizzed on potential transfer plans, the manager told BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City: "We are where we are, we have to have a realistic understanding of how we manage our way through this situation.
"I'm not saying we're not going to do any business categorically, what I'm saying is we have players who we may allow to leave if it allows us to do the business that we want to do bringing players in. It really is a case of it being that way round.
"The decisions that we make now can't be ones which are hit and miss, we've got to try and get things right because our squad has been too big, the wage bill has been too big.
"Football is in a pretty volatile situation in terms of sustainability and of course the figures that we released last month... it's not impossible but we have to be very careful how we do it.
"It's really important with us to engage with the fan base to know where we are."
With the club managing record losses, and the threat of breaching the EFL's Profit & Sustainability rules on the horizon, Pearson was eager to remind supporters that it is imperative now more than ever to make signings that could make an immediate impact and enhance what he already has at his disposal.
He also added the importance of signing players who will retain or increase their future transfer value to avoid having an overly bloated squad with the struggle to offload transfer listed players.
Admitting the Robins have already missed out on at least one target while business has been ongoing behind the scenes, Peason added: "I don't want to bring in players who might solve a problem we might have in the future,
"In other words, I don't want to build in a safety valve and have players who are now better than we've already got but might be stuck with them for a long period of time. I don't believe in that.
"We are operating in a situation where we have to be very, very prudent with how we invest our money.
"This is a tough window where people operate in. It's stop-gaps or to give you an extra push but it's an expensive window to operate in.
"I can share with you, we had an interest in a player that we were trying to do a deal on, and this was way before the window opened, so rather than move to a number two or three choice, we will keep our options open for the future.
"Just because we are not active in the public domain, doesn't mean that there hasn't been activity and doesn't mean there hasn't been attempts to do some business.
"I don't believe in broadcasting to everyone what's going on because I believe it's selling a story that's not necessarily true.
"I'd rather be upfront and say it as it is and we cant do extensive business anyway, I would prefer to do business in summer with more value for money."
Kasey Palmer is among the Bristol City players available, with QPR, Huddersfield and Birmingham all declaring interest in the playmaker.
City have received loan offers, and a part-exchange proposal from Birmingham, but all have so far been rejected as the club and player would prefer to let him leave permanently and remove his wages from the book.
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