Liverpool boss is satisfied with summer budget.

Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, says he is happy with the budget he has been given for this summer as Liverpool look to close the gap on current champions, Manchester United.

Liverpool have already missed out on signing Gareth Barry, a player who they had been tracking for well over a year. However, the boss insists that Liverpool’s failure to capture Barry was not down to not having enough money. Liverpool have spent a large sum in making sure that important players stay at the club this summer and are ready to play for next season.

Fernando Torres for example is the club’s best striker and was offered a lucrative new deal that will keep him in the side until roughly 2012/2013. It is important that Liverpool keep the spine of their side in place as one or two key players have been linked with moves away from the club e.g. Xabi Alonso’s possible move to Real Madrid.

Speaking today, Benitez said: “We spent some money to guarantee the extension of those contracts. Now we need to improve a little bit because we are in a very good position. We knew it would be difficult, especially as there is a [financial] crisis all around the world.”

“But when I decided to sign a five-year extension to my contract, I knew in my own mind that Liverpool is more than just a club, it is the heart of the city. It means so much to a lot of people. We want to keep our best players and Xabi has done really well for us. He has three years left on his contract so he is not for sale.”

This is all positive news for Liverpool fans who may have been wondering why the club had not put up a better fight in order to make sure that Barry was wearing the red shirt next season on not the light blue one. However, it is clear that Liverpool were not willing to pay over the odds for a player in the same way that City were and they seem content to work hard this summer to make sure that all arrivals are correct.

The worry is that with a reported limited budget, Benitez will have to focus on one or two players when he would have liked to have bought three or four. Top of the list si sure to be David Villa of Valencia, who no doubt will want the chance to play in th Premier League under a manager he already knows and with a striker than he is best friends with. There is also the added benefit that quite a few people at Liverpool speak Spanish.

Benitez seems smart enough to make sure Liverpool get things right in the transfer window and he is probably still hurting from being shown up by United in the latter part of the season that has just finished. There will be names on a list that he is but the selection of the correct ones will determine how close Liverpool can get next year.