TheCable

Jurgen Klopp has agreed to become Liverpool’s new manager and will officially sign his contract when he flies into Merseyside on Thursday evening.

The 48-year-old German replaces Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked on Sunday after three and a half years in charge.

Klopp has been out of work since May when he ended a seven-year spell at Borussia Dortmund to take a sabbatical.

He is expected to sign a three-year deal and is likely to bring with him Bosnian Zeljko Buvac, his assistant both at Dortmund and Mainz before that, and coach Peter Krawietz.

In preparation for that the club began a clear-out of many of predecessor Rodgers’ backroom staff earlier in the day.

Assistant manager Sean O’Driscoll and first team coach Gary McAllister – who were only brought in over the summer in an overhaul of coaching personnel – have both left their posts.

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.

Former Reds midfielder McAllister has been offered an ambassadorial-type role within the club but has yet to decide whether to take it up.

Klopp joined Dortmund in 2008 after seven years as Mainz boss, winning two Bundesliga titles at the club.

They lost to Wolfsburg in last season’s German Cup final – his final game – at the end of a campaign in which they had finished seventh in the league.