Spaniard says there will be no more outgoings this summer
Friday 17 August 2018 15:59, UK
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has ruled out losing any of his first-team squad during the remainder of the transfer window.
While Premier League clubs brought their own deadline forward to August 9, most leagues on the continent can continue to acquire players until the end of the month.
Football League clubs can also make loan signings during that time, meaning top-flight teams can ship players out, even if they cannot bring in any more new recruits.
Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark and midfielder Isaac Hayden have both been linked with loan moves to Aston Villa - and there are other players in the ranks who could attract attention in the coming days.
But Benitez, who takes his side to Wales to face newly-promoted Cardiff on Saturday, wants to keep his squad intact from now on.
"We will not allow anyone who is already in the team or part of the squad to go," he said.
"We have some young players who maybe need time on the pitch but that is it. Players that are playing already, we can't allow anyone to go, because we don't have too many.
"We have two or three players who are not playing too much and they can go on loan, we are trying to find a good solution for them and for us."
The Spaniard travels to Cardiff with a number of summer signings pushing to make their full debuts and he thinks he has a better group than the squad who finished 10th in the Premier League last season.
Forwards Salomon Rondon and Yoshinori Muto came off the bench in the defeat to Tottenham on the opening day, while fellow new recruits Fabian Schar, Ki Sung-yueng and Federico Fernandez are all yet to feature.
Benitez added: "When I say that I am happy with our players who came in, it is because some of them know the Premier League and can give us something from day one.
"The squad for me is stronger. We had some gaps we needed to fill - the team is better.
"But we will see, we don't have too many new faces in the starting XI.
"What we have is more experience, players who know the Premier League. Still we have some gaps, we know we will need to be lucky with injuries.
"They were training well and we will see on Saturday, but I am happy with all of them at the moment."
