The former Newcastle manager spent just £1.8 million which was used to sign Demarai Gray from German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen with four other players arriving on free transfers.
Revealing how the side were hugely affected by the Financial Fair Play, Benitez stressed;
“We didn’t spend a lot of money, but we had good signings. It could be better, yes, because if you have more money you can do it, but the financial fair play rules were killing us in this window.
“I was not expecting (this) at the beginning because I was thinking maybe we could sell some players, and then we could do well in the window.
“Hopefully in the next window it will be different, but the players we brought in were players that we needed.
“Maybe we needed players in more positions, but it’s what we could do, and I think we did quite well.
“When I say ‘next window’, hopefully it will be January if it’s necessary. If we are doing so well that in January we don’t need anybody, I think everybody will be happy here.
“We have to start working now, thinking about how to improve the squad, first of all on the pitch, and then afterwards bring in players if we can.”
Speaking of the future of James Rodriguez who's yet to feature for the Toffees, Benitez said;
“He was available in the transfer window. Now that we have just the Middle East window open, it’s not easy,” added the Everton manager.
“I think he realised he has to improve in a lot of things. He has to focus, he has to show his commitment. That’s what he’s trying to do and that is good for us.
“If he stays with us, it’s good news for us because he can give us something more. We don’t have any doubt about his quality, we have to be sure that we have players playing for 90 minutes with the intensity we’re looking for.
“If James is staying with us, we need to find the right games for him, and he has to show his commitment and his desire. It’s something his team-mates, fans and staff are expecting for him.”
