Football
Mike Whalley 8y

Jurgen Klopp agrees deal to become Liverpool manager - sources

Jurgen Klopp will sign a three-year contract to become Liverpool's manager on Thursday after agreeing in principle to join the club, sources have told ESPN FC.

Contract talks with Klopp's representatives have concluded successfully, with the former Borussia Dortmund manager set to fly to Merseyside to sign the deal, sources said.

The new boss' appointment is then set to be confirmed by the club, and he is expected to be at a news conference at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Klopp will replace Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked on Sunday with Liverpool lying 10th in the Premier League.

The 48-year-old left Dortmund in May with the intention of taking a sabbatical, but is keen to take on the challenge of managing in the Premier League.

He is set to bringing two former members of his Dortmund coaching staff with him -- assistant Zeljko Buvac and analyst Peter Krawietz.

To prepare for those arrivals, Liverpool have released assistant manager Sean O'Driscoll and have offered first-team coach Gary McAllister an "ambassadorial" role at the club. Head of performance Glen Driscoll and head of opposition analysis Chris Davies, who followed Rodgers to Anfield from Swansea in 2012, have also lost their jobs.

Liverpool said in a statement: "The club would like to place on record its thanks to all four men for the professionalism, commitment and dedication they have displayed during their time here, and the positive impact they have had in helping to support football operations and the team."

Pep Lijnders, promoted in the summer from the club's academy as a player development coach, has kept his job. It also appears Ryland Morgans' position of head of fitness and conditioning, another Rodgers recruit from Swansea, is also safe for now.

The Reds have no match this weekend because of the international break, and so Klopp's first game will be away to Tottenham, in the Premier League, on Oct. 17.

Former Liverpool manager and now England boss Roy Hodgson offered Klopp his best wishes in his new job.

"Certainly we wish him well. I mean, it is like everything else -- everybody who comes into the job has taken somebody else's job," Hodgson said. "It is club business when they decide to change managers. It has got nothing to do with international managers like myself.

"All I can do is welcome Jurgen to England and wish him the very best of luck with his job of making Liverpool the top team that the owners would like them to be."

Hodgson also expressed the hope he and the German would enjoy a good working relationship in the coming years.

"I've been very fortunate since taking over as the England manager that I had a very good relationship, and received a lot of help and backing from Brendan Rodgers," he added. "I am hoping that Jurgen Klopp will give me the same support and backing as we've had."

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