Newcastle United star Mikel Merino has insisted that the Magpies do not need to sign new players in order to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Given United's poor run of results in recent weeks, manager Rafael Benitez has insisted that he needs to sign new players during the January transfer window in order for his side to avoid relegation.

But midfielder Merino does not agree with such an assessment and believes that the Tyneside based outfit are good enough to avoid the drop without making an additions to the squad.

"Our squad is perfect for Premier League. All the players here are capable. I believe in each one and that this team is a great team," the 21-year-old said following the 3-2 loss to Leicester.

"We know we have lost again, and we are not going through a good period, but we have to make sure we don't lose our minds.

"We have shown this season that we are a good team with good players when we were higher up the table. We don't need to change everything because of five bad results, we have to be strong."