Babel happy at Anfield

Ryan Babel is happy at Liverpool, despite not starting regularly, according to his agent amid speculation linking the Dutch international winger with a £10million departure from Merseyside this summer.

Reports have suggested Reds boss Rafa Benitez would be happy to sell Babel to make money to sign his transfer targets, but Babel’s agent Winnie Haatrecht today played down the speculation.

‘œRyan is very happy at Liverpool and clearly doesn’t want to leave,’ he said. ‘œHe still has a three-year contract.’

Benitez recently said that he believes that 22-year-old Babel has a lot of potential.

He said, ‘œRyan has done well as an impact player, which is not easy when you are young, but we think he can do more than that.

‘œOur view of Ryan is a player who starts games and has an impact from the beginning. But first of all he has to improve tactically.’

Babel played the final few minutes for Holland last night in their World Cup 2010 Qualifier against Norway. The Dutch ran out impressive 2-0 winners.