You Know It Must Be Nearly January When Rafa Says Things Like This

As reported by the Chronicle, Rafa Benitez has been discussing his plans for January.

When asked about the transfer window, Benitez said:  “What you need is balance,”

“Maybe we need a midfielder – maybe we need a winger. But we have players in every position – a couple of them. So we’re not looking for this or that.

“We know that (we will move) if we (can) have some good Premier League players, or Ligue 1 or in Spain. If you can find these players at the right age and price, and they can play in the Championship then great. But there are not too many who want to come and not too many that will take the risk. They maybe say ‘I wait and maybe next year I go’.

“You have young players (available), but they say £20million. Do you need to pay £20million for a player when you’re at the top of the table with a good squad and doing well? Maybe not.

“We are trying to find this balance. If we cannot, we can go (with the same squad). You see teams in the Championship and they are signing players. But it’s easy for them. It’s just to improve their position. It’s enough.

“For us, in our position and for our fans, we need to sign players with a Premier League level or players that can be better than the players that we have. That is not easy to find these players in the Championship market.”