Carlos Bacca revealed he is not enjoying life at AC Milan during a recent visit to Sevilla, but coach Jorge Sampaoli claims the LaLiga club are unable to sign him.
Bacca incurred the displeasure of the Milan fans after he was photographed attending Sevilla's 2-1 win over Valencia instead of the Serie A club's match at Empoli, despite coach Vincenzo Montella sanctioning the injured striker's trip.
The Colombia international has been strongly linked with a return to Sevilla, for whom he played between 2013 and 2015, as his relationship with Montella is reportedly strained.
And while Sampaoli acknowledged he would like to bring Bacca back to Sevilla, they cannot grant him a return in January due to Ganso, Hiroshi Kiyotake and Mariano filling their three non-EU LaLiga registration spots.
Speaking to the media ahead of Wednesday's Copa del Rey meeting with Formentera, Sampaoli said: "Bacca is well regarded by us, but now [he] plays for another club. It would be very nice to have him, but he is not attainable.
"We could really use him here, but it is unlikely that Milan relinquishes such an important player.
"He told us about how he's doing and told us how he's not having a good time at Milan, but there are many things [in the way of a potential transfer]."
Although a move for Bacca was effectively ruled out, Sevilla are expected to strengthen their numbers in attack in January after striker Carlos Fernandez was ruled out for the rest of the season in October.
Jonathan Calleri has been touted as a potential arrival after a miserable time at West Ham so far this season, though Sampaoli refused to reveal the club's specific plans.
"We have to do a detailed study to find out what we need in the winter," he added. "We cannot move a lot of chips [spend a lot of money].
"If the [available] players are not going to improve what we have, then obviously we will stay with what we already have."
Sampaoli also provided an injury update on Samir Nasri, with the Frenchman expected to be able to return from a hamstring problem in time for Sevilla's crucial final Champions League group match against Lyon on December 7.
"Nasri's recovery is going well," the Argentinian said. "[I don't know] whether he can play some minutes [on Saturday] in Granada, but the idea is to be ready for Lyon."
