Chief executive David Leatherdale says "key things" have to be considered when Worcestershire start looking at who will be their overseas players for the 2015 season.
The county last summer at various times employed New Zealand duo Colin Munro and Mitchell McClenaghan and Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal with the latter currently remodelling his action after being suspended from international cricket.
But knowing when players might be available because of international commitments and obtaining No Objection Certificates from their respective countries are amongst the key factors which make it difficult to tie up potential targets sooner rather than later.
Leatherdale said: "With overseas players, where that will go, obviously time will tell over the winter period but the budgets are there for an overseas player and potentially a second in Twenty20 as well.
"You still ultimately are bound by tours next year of other countries.
"A lot of them don't select who their squads are until weeks and weeks before, which could be January, February, March anyway.
"The ability to get a No Objection Certificate from the country is still the key bit.
"It is not the player who effectively controls his contract. It's the country that he plays for. It is almost impossible physically to say this time of year 'we will have him' and, if you do, you are still never sure right up to the start of the season.
"If we are looking at a couple of other signings, that might affect what you do with your overseas slot.
"There are key things before we start looking at who that overseas will be."
