Amid Brentford’s interest in Nottingham Forest ace Brennan Johnson, boss Thomas Frank says Championship players are “too expensive”.
And he believes it isn’t “essential” the Bees make any signings before the January transfer window closes in little more than a week’s time.
The Premier League outfit have been chasing Johnson for some time, going back to the summer, when he returned to the City Ground after impressing on loan at Lincoln City.
Reports this week suggested they would be prepared to pay a club record £15m to secure his signature, while former Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen has also been linked.
Frank insists he is happy with the squad he already has, but would be open to the right additions in the right circumstances.
"I said before the season and also at the beginning of the transfer window, I think we have a strong enough squad to compete in the Premier League,” he told the BBC, on the back of Wednesday night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.
"We showed that last night. The first 60 minutes were absolutely amazing and showed what this group of players are capable of.
"I do think that a player or two would bring energy and extra awareness to the squad but I don’t think it’s essential.
"We are always prepared, we are always in the market. If we can find the right player, for the right position, with the right character, then we will do it.
"The Championship is a good league to look at. I also think that when we were in the Championship that League One was a good league to look in, so that’s natural we do that.
"But obviously it’s also natural that we look in the European market. It doesn’t have to be Championship or England, it can be Europe.
“I think the Championship is actually too expensive. I think we pay too much for the quality of the players that you can probably get in Europe."
Forest head coach Steve Cooper has previously said there is no intention of letting Johnson go this month - although it remains to be seen whether a substantial offer would change that stance.
“Of course we want to keep him. I don’t want to lose anybody in January that I want to stay,” he has said.
“I haven’t even thought about him leaving. I’ve just thought about how he gets better, how we support him, how we push him, how we challenge him and how we get him to strive to do even better than what he’s doing, because now is not the time for him to stand still - it’s the time for him to kick on even more.”
