Friday 3 January 2020 10:31, UK
Carlo Ancelotti will put his Everton transfer plans on hold until after Sunday's FA Cup third-round match against Liverpool.
Everton have been linked with several high-profile players following Ancelotti's arrival at Goodison Park, with Real Madrid's Colombian international James Rodriguez among the names in the frame.
The Italian, however, is in no rush to enter the transfer market this January is prioritising preparations for the FA Cup game against city rivals Liverpool, in which he feels his team will need to be "perfect".
"I didn't think about (transfers) until now," Ancelotti said. "Honestly before I want to check all of the players that we have here.
"We don't have a lot of time because we have a lot of games but I have an idea now and every day I will get to know my players better.
"If there is any possibility the club is happy to try to improve the squad if it is possible."
Ancelotti has the unique honour of being one of the few managers to have beaten Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in recent years, guiding Napoli to Champions League victories over the Reds both last season and during the current campaign.
When asked the secret to beating a team who were recently crowned world champions, he said: "You score more goals.
"It is a fantastic challenge for us and I want to be focused on them and not lose time talking about the transfer market because in this moment I want to put all of my energy into explaining to the players what type of game I want them to play.
"Of course, Liverpool are the favourites but in a derby you never know.
"We need to have confidence to play at our best, to play our football and move on in the competition. Everyone knows how important this competition is and last time I played this competition I won it, so that could be good luck for us."
"Everything has to be perfect. Work rate, intensity, sacrifice, if you want to beat them the game has to be complete."
Sky Sports will bring you the very latest news from the January transfer market with the return of three shows.
Start your day with Good Morning Transfers at 9am as our team of reporters bring you the latest news and insight. Transfer Talk then follows at midday delivering analysis of the biggest stories. Then join us at 7pm for the definitive round-up of the day's news with The Transfer Show.
Meanwhile, the Transfer Talk podcast will also be back at the turn of the year with more expert analysis from here and across the continent.
And as well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don't miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
