Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has played down the chances of winger Jonny Hayes making a return to Pittodrie.
The 32-year-old announced at the weekend that he would be leaving Celtic when his contract expires in the summer.
Hayes has made 67 appearances for the Hoops since moving from Aberdeen in a £1.3 million deal in June 2017.
Championship sides Preston and Stoke City are understood to be keen on landing the Republic of Ireland international, who was mainly deployed as a left-back rather than a winger during his spell with Celtic.
McInnes admits the challenging financial environment caused by the Scottish football shutdown and the likelihood of games being behind closed doors until 2021 means it is unlikely they will be able to join the race to sign the free agent.
He said: “I am aware of Jonny’s situation but the fact of the matter is we are not in a situation where we are looking to bring in any players until we know the lie of the land.
“That is the case no matter how good a player is or what they can add to the team.
“Obviously, Jonny’s association with the club and myself is evident but we need to concentrate on other matters at the minute.”
The Aberdeen manager admitted the Dons face some difficult challenges in the coming months as they try to balance the books ahead of the 2020-21 season potentially getting under way on August 1.
He said: “We are going to have to look at everything over the next month. There is still a bit of pain ahead for us as a club.
“We made a lot of progress with raising cash through selling season tickets and the wage deferrals made by the players and staff a couple of months ago, but that was really on the premise that we could get back to playing football in front of crowds by September.
“There is absolutely no chance of trying to bring players in at this moment in time.
“Normally, agents are contacting you at this time and you are straight on to it because you don’t want to miss anything. We are always confident that players won’t roll up somewhere else without us having a chance to get to speak to them.
“But the truth of the matter is we are not in the position where we can bring players in.
“I am really trying to safeguard the future security of the players and staff we have got.
“We will be concentrating fully on that over the next three or four weeks.”