No signings for Real in January

Real Madrid chairman Florentino Perez has told coach Jose Mourinho he cannot sign a new striker in the winter transfer window to cover for the injured Gonzalo Higuain, a sports newspaper said Saturday.

The Portuguese coach is concerned that with Higuain ruled out for at least another two months he has only Cristiano Ronaldo and the out-of-form French striker Karim Benzema to rely on up front.

"With Benzema, Cristiano, Higuain from March and the pool (of players), there is more than enough," the Marca daily quoted Perez as saying. "There will be no signings," Perez added.

Higuain is to undergo surgery in the United States to fix a slipped disc that has already kept him out of action since late November, Real said Thursday.