Benitez 'nets £40m transfer fund'

Benitez is set to join the Premiership's top spenders

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will be given £40m to spend in the transfer market this summer, according to newspaper reports.

The club's new American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks will make the money available so Benitez can mount a challenge for the Premiership title.

Benitez met the club's owners over the weekend to discuss a strategy.

"We talked about ideas for the future and it was good. For me, the future of the club is brilliant," he said.

"They (Gillett and Hicks) said that we will go in the right direction."

However, Benitez, whose side face PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of the quarter-finals on Tuesday, would not confirm how much he will be given to spend on new players in a bid to compete with Premiership front-runners Manchester United and Chelsea.

He added: "We have a big Champions League game against PSV to concentrate on and now is not the time to talk about money."

The Liverpool manager has been linked with a whole host of players, including Sevilla winger Daniel Alves, Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o and Valencia forward David Villa.

Benitez is in his third season in charge at Anfield, while Gillett and Hicks have made serious investment during previous forays into ice hockey and baseball in the United States.

They have also concluded a deal for the Reds' new stadium following a meeting with Liverpool City Council.

Work on the new ground in Stanley Park will begin in May and will be completed by the end of 2010.