Rafael Benitez has revealed Newcastle United have to sell players before they buy.
The Magpies have only managed to generate cash through the sales of Florian Thauvin, Kevin Mbabu and Daryl Murphy.
An unknown transfer budget was given to Benitez to help bolster his squad ahead of the new Premier League season, which has been used to bring in Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune, Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo.
But with a lot of players still remaining from last season’s Championship campaign, players will have to be moved on in order to create space and revenue to spend on new additions.
Tim Krul, Henri Saivet and Acharf Lazaar have reportedly been told that they are free to leave this summer.
Work to do
Benitez believes it is “especially important” to sign more players “when you are promoted from the Championship to the Premier League.”
And United are close to announcing Mikel Merino from Borussia Dortmund as Benitez takes his summer recruitment up to five.
Still, Benitez knows there is a lot of work left to be done with just under five weeks of the transfer window remaining.
He said: "It's maybe not the same when you're already in the Premier League and you need three or four maximum.
"When you are changing division, it's more difficult and you have to bring more players.”
Players such as Siem De Jong, Krul and Saivet have returned from last season’s loan spells – adding more unwanted depth in the squad.
And because United’s squad is already bigger than last terms, Benitez called this a "problem".
"We have a problem, which is obvious, which is we already have too many players,” Benitez said.
“We have to move players out if we want to move players in. That's something we have to manage between now and the end of the window."