Benitez may have to sell

Liverpool boss waiting on investors to keep big names

Last updated: 11th April 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Benitez may have to sell

Benitez: May have to sell

I cannot guarantee we won't have to sell.

Rafa Benitez
Quotes of the week

SKY BET ODDS
Liverpool are 9/1 to win the Barclays Premier League next season. Click here for the latest prices.

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has conceded he may need to sell one of his big name players this summer.

Liverpool's American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, who are reportedly set to appoint British Airways chief Martin Broughton as their new chairman, are actively looking to find a buyer.

But Benitez concedes that if no new investment is found, he could be forced to sell one of his big names - which would mean either Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres going.

"I don't think I will have to sell a big player, but it will depend on investors so I cannot guarantee we won't have to sell. Our idea is to keep the spine of the team," he told the People.

"Sometimes you have to manage by selling two or three players who aren't playing too many games, but that does not bring in any big money if they are not playing."

Benitez agrees with recent assessments from Torres and Jamie Carragher that he needs at least four players next term and suggesting to that he would need between £60million and £80million to do this.

"I don't want to talk about figures, but if you analyse what Fernando and Carra have been saying, they were talking about four or five players," he continued.

"It doesn't matter if it is four or five or three or five, the cost of a top-class player is about £15million or £20million.

"So with three or four players, you start counting and I think we need up to four players.

"It is difficult to compete with other clubs who may spend big money again in the summer. Last year we tried to keep players and extend contracts and tried to add some players.

"It depends on the money available, and if you don't have too much money then you can't make any mistakes in the transfer market.

"It is not easy, I always say that we have to do almost everything perfectly and if we make a mistake in the transfer window it is extra difficult for us to manage.

"We have had problems with Alberto Aquilani because his ankle injury has taken longer than expected [to recover].

"We are talking about pressure. Sometimes you bring in someone who needs to settle down or they have a problem, so you cannot guarantee anything.

"Other teams have plenty of players worth £20million who are not playing, two or three players in the same position sometimes, but we cannot do that."

Jovanovic deal

Benitez did confirm that one summer deal, for Standard Liege's Milan Jovanovic, was just about complete.

"A deal for Jovanovic is now very close and our scouts are working very hard," he said.

"We have our targets and we have to decide when to try and buy them, but sometimes it is too early.

"Maybe they are still playing in the Champions League or at the end of the season in their local leagues and you have to wait a bit.

"The World Cup is always very dangerous because if one player is playing really well then his value goes up, so I think it is important to do things before if we can."

Benitez also admits that the club need to improve on their record of brining through fresh talent.

"I think for us to bring players in through the system is crucial," said Benitez.

"This is the first year we have had control of the Academy and it is clear that we have not produced a player in the last 13 years, so that was a big problem."