Former Everton boss Rafa Benitez stands by his work with young players.

Benitez insists he was the one to launch Aston Villa star Philippe Coutinho's career at Inter Milan, along with Casemiro at Real Madrid.

He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "My career is based on improving the team, even with the market.

"There were no resources to renew the squad. The case of Coutinho is emblematic, who was unknown at the time but later turned out to be an important asset.

"The same thing happened at Real and I launched a young Casemiro in a context in which many great players were not tactically compatible with each other."