And the news from the Toon camp is that they can rule Newcastle out of the running, because Sam Allardyce lost interest in the Ajax winger last week when James Milner signed a five year deal.
With Nobby Solano, Damien Duff, Charles N'Zogbia and Kieron Dyer also in his ranks, I'm sure there are other positions that Big Sam will concentrate on.
Rafael Benitez made an offer of around 10million euros for Babel on Sunday after the Dutchman impressed at the European Under-21 Championship last month.
Toon In No Mood To Challenge Liverpool
The sting in the tale for Liverpool, however, the 20-year-old had previously said he wanted to join Arsenal.
He has been tipped by Holland manager Marco van Basten as one of the country's brightest young talents and he has already represented the senior Holland team, scoring on his debut against Romania in March 2005.