Rafa Benitez believes Everton will have "some money" to spend in the January transfer window as he looks to bolster the Blues squad.
But the boss has warned he will need to be "creative" again to find the right players in the winter market.
It is understood that current discussions have focused around strengthening the manager's options on the wing and in central midfield but Benitez says plans are yet to be finalised and could change
Director of football Marcel Brands has provided Benitez with what money he can expect to work with in January and the Everton boss believes he can find players with the "right character" to improve the squad.
Benitez is an admirer of AS Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin but was coy when asked about him and the Russian's asking price may rule the Blues out of making a move in the New Year, given on-going concerns over financial fair play rules.
READ MORE: Farhad Moshiri, Marcel Brands and latest Everton blame game as serious issues clear
READ MORE: Antonio Conte and Tottenham have shown an immediate weakness Everton can take advantage of
The Spaniard said it is a "pity" the Blues are not in a position to spend on the same levels are previous times during Farhad Moshiri's reign.
And asked if the club had told him how much money he will have to spend in January, Benitez said: "I had a conversation with Marcel, and he was explaining, not exactly, but more or less, the idea.
"I think we still have some time to consider what we have to do.
"When you go there and sit down and prepare your plan it may change depending on injuries, depending on the performances of players. I feel that in this case, when we talk about the owner who is someone who has spent £400m in the last years then we cannot blame him for that but at the same time it is a pity that we couldn’t spend the money this year because of the financial fair play years.
"We have to be creative and think about how to manage the situation in the best way possible and be sure that in January we can be stronger."
"I think we will have some money to spend but I don’t think that will be too much," he added.
"The point is, as I said before, if we consider that Townsend is a free transfer or Demarai is £1.7m, so maybe we can find the right players for us. It doesn’t matter the price, it is more about the mentality.
"The fans, they know, because I could read the comments on the last six months. They know the kind of players that you need here, they know the kind of character that you need here and the quality that you are looking for.
"You need to find these players because they are in the market to find them. If we can buy them, fine. If not we can loan them and make sure that they can stay here with us in the future. We can find solutions and we will try our best."
Benitez was quizzed on reported interest in 25-year-old Golovin but says it's too early to be talking about specific targets.
"If you ask me one week before January then maybe I could say something but it’s too early," he said.
"I could say my main target now is to make sure we continue working hard in the training sessions and they are doing that and trying to be sure we can get three points in the next game.
"Considering I’m thinking about all the important games that we will have before the transfer window, it’s something you will appreciate we don’t talk about players now and concentrate on how to improve our performance."
