Damien Comolli, former director of football at Liverpool and Tottenham, says an agent has told him that only three Premier League teams will be in a position to spend during the next transfer window.
It remains to be seen when that will open, with competitive football currently locked down amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Playing 2019-20 campaigns to a finish remains the priority for sporting authorities around the world, but piecing those plans together is proving difficult.
A lack of action is also hitting club sides hard, with the loss of income forcing many to pull in the purse strings and that is expected to deliver a quiet market when recruitment is allowed again, with few teams in a position where they can afford to invest in fresh faces.
Those with the deepest pockets should be okay, with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea already being linked with a whole host of possible additions, but limited movement is likely.
Comolli expects that could be the case, with the Frenchman telling Sky Sports: “An agent was telling me the other day, that there are actually only three clubs in the Premier League that will be able to spend money next summer in the transfer window.
“I don't know if this is correct but usually when agents tell you things like this, they usually get intel.
“We might see very little transfer activity, we might see swaps, we might see loans and I think we are going to see a massive decrease in transfer fees and transfer activity, at least transfers involving money.
“The longer this crisis goes on, more clubs are going to be in a financially difficult situation. The first thing that will be impacted will be player remuneration, the second thing will be transfer fees.”
Before any deals can be completed, decisions need to be made on whether fixture lists can be completed and Comolli believes they will be, with it likely that games will be staged behind closed doors for the foreseeable future.
He added: “There are millions of fans who cannot come into stadiums and will be happy to have something else - at night or during the day - to think about, away from the virus and all the issues they've got to think about.
“I think having football on TV would be a positive, personally. I wouldn't be surprised if we can't play without any fans until the end of 2020 - not just the end of this season.
“People say we shouldn't be playing behind closed doors to finish this season, but what about next season?”
