Rafael Benítez ready to shop in the bargain basement again in January
Rafael Benítez has said Everton will not have “too much” money to spend in January but can improve by signing players with the right mentality rather than expensive price tags.
Benítez has discussed January’s transfer strategy with Everton’s director of football, Marcel Brands, and, while he has been assured there is more money available than this summer’s £1.7m outlay on Demarai Gray, it is unlikely to match the levels enjoyed by his predecessors under Farhad Moshiri. The need for improvements has been reinforced during a run of three successive Premier League defeats without the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Yerry Mina and André Gomes, all of whom remain absent for Tottenham’s visit on Sunday.
Benítez, who has been linked with Monaco’s Russia midfielder Aleksandr Golovin, said: “I had a conversation with Marcel. I think we will have some money to spend but I don’t think that will be too much.
“The point is, if we consider that [Andros] Townsend is a free transfer or Demarai is £1.7m, maybe we can find the right players for us. It doesn’t matter the price, it is more about the mentality. The fans know the kind of players that you need here, they know the kind of character that you need here and the quality that you are looking for.
“You need to find these players because they are in the market. If we can buy them, fine. If not we can loan them and make sure that they can stay here with us in the future. We can find solutions.”
Benítez insists it is imperative that the transfer business improves and starts to give a return on Moshiri’s lavish investment.
“I met the owner and the sponsor and the directors [before joining] and everybody was telling me that we have great ambition and everybody wants to do well to create a competitive team that could go to the new stadium winning something or playing in Europe. The ambition is there.
“An owner who has spent £400m, you cannot criticise him for spending money. We have to be sure we are spending the money properly and the team will be stronger. We have to be sure we improve things that maybe were not right before. If not, then you cannot justify why we were where we were and why we are where we are after spending the fourth most [of Premier League clubs] in the last five years.”