Rafa Benitez reacts to speculation linking Newcastle with Ritsu Doan

Rafa Benitez is still waiting to find out his January transfer budget.
Rafa Benitez.Rafa Benitez.
Rafa Benitez.

Benitez, linked with Groningen midfielder Ritsu Doan, wants to strengthen his Newcastle United squad next month.

However, Benitez doesn't yet know how much he will have to spend amid takeover talks at the club, which was put up for sale last year by owner Mike Ashley.

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Asked about a report linking Newcastle with 20-year-old Doan, manager Benitez said: "They gave me some names before.

"We don’t talk about players. We don’t have any news. We're in same position as were last week.

“We have been working for a while looking for names, watching players, here with TV and going to watch them.

"We have a lot of names, and we have to work with them. We have nothing new. We have same situation.

“The first thing is to identify the players, and then after that we decide who we can go with. We go for one, and if we cant go then we got for another. What you get (money) is the key."