Peter Coates says Stoke City will not be able to emulate the spending on players which occurred last summer.
The Potters signed Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios and Cameron Jerome on the final day of the transfer window but chairman Coates says there is not enough financial stability to make similar purchases this time around with Stoke well-placed in terms of squad numbers.
"Are we going to spend like we did last year? We can't afford to, and neither can any other club our size," he told The Sentinel.
"You can only have a squad of a certain size, otherwise they are all standing on the sidelines. What's clever about that?
"So you only want a squad of a certain size and ours is already self-evidently too big.
"It's the same for other clubs. Arsene Wenger is saying he has to get players out at Arsenal before he can get them in. We are no different.
"What we want is the best 25 players we can get, but that's easy to say."
Coates added: "We are expecting some change around, but not a large amount. "But if people come in for some of our players and it suits us to do a deal, then that opens up possibilities."
