Daniel Agger, the accomplished young Denmark defender, may be one of Benítez's better acquisitions, but the failures ring a little louder than the successes. Gabriel Paletta anyone?

Or how about Mark González, apparently so good that BenÍtez was willing to wait 12 months for the Chile winger to get a work permit but who has since been sent packing to Real Betis.

It is why Liverpool supporters might have greeted the news of Ryan Babel's arrival at Anfield with as great a degree of trepidation as expectation, especially in light of the fact that the club have paid 11.5 million pounds for the services of the 20-year-old Holland forward, who will put pen to paper on a five-year contract today.

There are many reasons for Liverpool fans to be optimistic, however, and that is because, for long stretches, Babel has been coveted by Arsène Wenger, a man whose eye for emerging talent is proven and remains largely unblemished.

Price, more than anything, may ultimately have prevented the Arsenal manager from challenging Liverpool for Babel's signature, but Wenger is a keen admirer of a player that BenÍtez hopes will develop into a world-beater for the club.

His country's star in the recent European Under-21 Championship, which Holland won, Babel has 14 full international caps and is fêted as one of the most promising young players in the Netherlands after exploding on to the scene with Ajax.

Indeed, the biggest problem for BenÍtez may be where to play Babel. The Liverpool manager had identified the need for two wingers in the wake of the club's Champions League defeat by AC Milan in May, but in Babel and Yossi Benayoun, who has signed a four-year contract after his 5 million pounds move from West Ham United, the Spaniard has signed two players who cannot be classed as out and out wide-men.

Although Babel is said to be comfortable on either wing, the player's preferred position is up front, even though the jury is thought to be out on whether he can operate as an orthodox striker.

The player himself, though, appeared to shed some light on how he might be used yesterday after being told that he will probably compete with Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, Andriy Voronin, Harry Kewell and Jermaine Pennant for a starting place.

"I was in Aruba at the end of last week when I was told to start thinking about Liverpool because a move could happen," Babel said. "I have met Rafael Benítez and my conversation with him was the moment I knew the deal would get done.

"He is like the ideal father-in-law. He has a lot of football knowhow and he told me that I would be challenging with six other players for four positions. I have a good feeling about things.

"I met Dirk Kuyt at training, who I knew from the national team. At that moment he did not feel like a rival but I suppose that is what will happen. It was very important how the coach spoke to me, how I would fit in his team. After that conversation I knew it was the right decision."

Meanwhile, Steve Finnan is poised to become the latest player to commit his long-term future to Liverpool after Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, José Manuel Reina and Mohamed Sissoko. The Ireland defender has been offered a two-year contract with the option of an extra 12 months.

Jerzy Dudek has finally ended speculation about his future by joining Real Madrid on a free transfer. The Poland goalkeeper will serve as understudy to Iker Casillas at the Bernabéu.