Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks believes the club's heavy-spending summer programme is not over even though the manager, Rafael Benítez, has invested about £40m overhauling his squad, with Ryan Babel last night confirmed by Ajax as the latest arrival.
The exciting 20-year-old Holland forward accepted a five-year contract after the Amsterdam club agreed to sell him in a deal worth £11.5m, about £2m less than they originally wanted. West Ham's Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun is expected to follow Babel into Anfield in time to fly out with the squad on Sunday to a training camp before two friendlies in Switzerland, where the record signing Fernando Torres is likely to get his first game.
Benítez, who has also signed the striker Andriy Voronin from Bayer Leverkusen since the Champions League final defeat in May, has been one of the busiest managers in the market this summer, but Hicks does not expect the spending to stop.
"I wouldn't rule Rafa out for one more [transfer]. I know the team is going to be a better team," said the American, who with his compatriot George Gillett has helped fund the eye-catching recruitment drive. "Part of the plan Rafa explained was that we needed to have more depth as it is a long season, particularly in the Premier League.
"He explained to George and me that we were able to compete better in the Champions League because of the format than we were in the nine to 10 months of the Premier League. We tried to add to that depth and I think we have."
Hicks believes Liverpool's spending sends out a strong signal to Premiership and European rivals about their intent to win trophies. Only Manchester United have flexed more muscle in the market, although Spurs are pushing them close.
"United are always going to be a top side and we just have to compete as best we can," he added. "Rafa has done a great job. We talked to him about a plan and it has gone pretty much how we agreed it would go. The first was to get existing core players on our team to sign extensions - it was critical to get those guys locked up. Then we started with the process of getting new players in."
Babel, one of the stars of Holland's European Under-21 championship win last month, is a product of the famed Ajax youth academy and broke into the senior side in the 2003-04 season. He has since scored 14 goals in 73 league games, was picked for Holland's World Cup squad last summer and is rated as one of the country's most promising talents.
He said he had been won over by Benítez's expectations for the future. "I've spoken to Rafa Benítez and that was when I knew everything would be signed," he said. "He has a clear vision of what he wants and said I'd be competing with six others for four positions in the forward line."
The exciting 20-year-old Holland forward accepted a five-year contract after the Amsterdam club agreed to sell him in a deal worth £11.5m, about £2m less than they originally wanted. West Ham's Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun is expected to follow Babel into Anfield in time to fly out with the squad on Sunday to a training camp before two friendlies in Switzerland, where the record signing Fernando Torres is likely to get his first game.
Benítez, who has also signed the striker Andriy Voronin from Bayer Leverkusen since the Champions League final defeat in May, has been one of the busiest managers in the market this summer, but Hicks does not expect the spending to stop.
"I wouldn't rule Rafa out for one more [transfer]. I know the team is going to be a better team," said the American, who with his compatriot George Gillett has helped fund the eye-catching recruitment drive. "Part of the plan Rafa explained was that we needed to have more depth as it is a long season, particularly in the Premier League.
"He explained to George and me that we were able to compete better in the Champions League because of the format than we were in the nine to 10 months of the Premier League. We tried to add to that depth and I think we have."
Hicks believes Liverpool's spending sends out a strong signal to Premiership and European rivals about their intent to win trophies. Only Manchester United have flexed more muscle in the market, although Spurs are pushing them close.
"United are always going to be a top side and we just have to compete as best we can," he added. "Rafa has done a great job. We talked to him about a plan and it has gone pretty much how we agreed it would go. The first was to get existing core players on our team to sign extensions - it was critical to get those guys locked up. Then we started with the process of getting new players in."
Babel, one of the stars of Holland's European Under-21 championship win last month, is a product of the famed Ajax youth academy and broke into the senior side in the 2003-04 season. He has since scored 14 goals in 73 league games, was picked for Holland's World Cup squad last summer and is rated as one of the country's most promising talents.
He said he had been won over by Benítez's expectations for the future. "I've spoken to Rafa Benítez and that was when I knew everything would be signed," he said. "He has a clear vision of what he wants and said I'd be competing with six others for four positions in the forward line."
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