Curle says Cobblers have 'money available' to spend in January but insists he won't 'pay over the odds'

Keith Curle insists the Cobblers will not be forced to pay 'over the odds' for any player during the January transfer window despite their need to strengthen the squad.

Ricky Holmes has not yet had his contract renewed by the Cobblers and could go elsewhere while midfielder Chris Lines departed for Stevenage on Tuesday, freeing up room in his 22-man squad for Curle to bring in players this month.

Funds are available for Curle to go after his first-choice targets but with the club still feeling the pinch due to the impact of COVID, the Town boss has reiterated his insistence of not overpaying.

He said: "There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes but I think this window is going to be very, very different because a lot of clubs will be governed by the size of their squads with the 22-man limit.

"That can have both a positive and a negative effect and with the salary cap and the finances generally in football now, everybody has to be showing good housekeeping.

"With the structure we've got in place, the housekeeping is vitally important to us and that shows good business sense because we haven't overspent and we have money available if the right players become available.

"My job within that is to put a value on players that I think can come into the club, but we won't pay over the odds and we won't panic buy because that's when some clubs can collect players and have a very, very expensive bench."

With the limit on squad sizes going down to 20 next season, Curle believes some clubs will have to change the way they operate.

"A little bit of leniency was shown when they first brought in the salary cap in the summer but next season I think a few football clubs will have to change the way that they do business," he added.

"We're trying to be progressive and make sure we have good housekeeping and have an understanding of what the bottom line is.

"We know that, financially, other teams will outbid us for players but that's where the recruitment comes in because we need to get value for money and sign players with a hunger that previously may not have been used to their full potential.

"Our job then, as coaches, is to bring those players in and get that extra percentage out of them."