Tuesday 11 July 2017 09:56, UK
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez has expressed his frustration over the "crazy" summer transfer market, but insists he will keep working hard to strengthen his squad.
Benitez has made only two major signings ahead of the Magpies' return to the Premier League, with winger Christian Atsu arriving from Chelsea on a permanent deal and defender Florian Lejeune joining from Eibar.
Owner Mike Ashley had previously promised to give Benitez "every penny the club generates" from promotion and players sales to rebuild the squad.
But, speaking at the club's 1892 Foundation Cup event, Benitez said: "It's not easy for a lot of teams because the market is a little bit crazy. We have to try to do our best.
"The top sides have a lot of money. The other teams are spending too, but we will see what we can do."
Newcastle have already missed out on the signings of goalkeeper Willy Caballero and striker Tammy Abraham, who instead joined Chelsea and Swansea respectively.
With just over a month to go until Newcastle's opening Premier League match against Tottenham at St James' Park, Benitez admits the current situation is not what he was hoping for.
"We know where we are - that is not ideal because everybody wants to see a lot of players signing already, but we have to keep working and see what we can do," he said.
"We can do nothing other than just keep working to find the players that we want, and hopefully we can do it."
