Ryan Babel set to quit on Liverpool

Ryan Babel had been touted as one of the most exciting prospects in Europe when he made a switch from Ajax to Liverpool but his career has since taken the wrong turn. The player himself has to take part of the blame for this because he never really repeat the performances from his time at Ajax, but in all fairness I have to say Rafa Benitez never really gave him a real chance to shine. Babel is aware he has no future at Liverpool and he is hoping to rejoin Ajax on loan in January in order to boost his chances of making the Netherlands World Cup squad.

Ryan Babel became a first team regular at Ajax when he was only 18 and just one year later he made it to Marco Van Basten’s World Cup 2006 squad. He featured only once at the big tournament due to his injury, but continued showing remarkable potential at Ajax. Babel played on either side of Ajax’s three-man attack, because of his ability to use both feet with extreme confidence and he quickly became one of the most sought-after players in Europe. Rafa Benitez splashed the cash and decided to sign him, seeing Babel as one of the key players in his new Liverpool.

However, the Spaniard never really gave Babel the chance to become a first team regular and he would often drop him after just one poor performance. This can really damage the confidence of such a young player and that is one of the reasons why Babel never really fulfilled his potential at Liverpool. The Dutch winger started the first match of the season against Tottenham, but was then singled out as the one to blame for the Tottenham defeat. No wonder that he wants to leave. Ajax can be a great escape route for him as this is the club where he made a name for himself and it is in Amsterdam that Babel can really kick-start his career and win the place in Bert van Marwijk World Cup squad.

This is a player of enormous potential and he’s got more than enough time to resurrect his career, being only 22 years old. One season of regular football would do wonders for his confidence and I have no doubts we would be seeing one different Babel after that.

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