• Rodgers to be unveiled at Anfield on Friday
• Three-year deal and £5m compensation does trick
Liverpool are on the brink of appointing Brendan Rodgers as their new manager after Swansea City's chairman, Huw Jenkins, accepted he could not refuse the 39-year-old Northern Irishman the opportunity of a move to Anfield.
Two weeks after sacking Kenny Dalglish for finishing eighth in the Premier League, Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group, concluded the search for his replacement during talks with Rodgers in London. The former Watford and Reading manager agreed a three-year contract with John W Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool's principal owner and chairman respectively, before informing Swansea he wished to quit after a hugely successful two-year spell at the Liberty Stadium.
All that stands in the way of Rodgers being confirmed as Liverpool manager is an agreement on a compensation package with Swansea. Under the terms of the three-and-a-half year contract that Rodgers signed in January, the Welsh club are entitled to around £5m. A predecessor at Swansea, Roberto Martínez, was also in the running to succeed Dalglish but despite interrupting a holiday to meet Henry in Miami last Thursday, he had no further contact with Liverpool after the weekend.
Both Rodgers and Martínez made it known to Liverpool's owners that they would be reluctant to work within the new management structure intended for Anfield. That proposal, with Louis van Gaal approached to be sporting director but inevitably wanting far-reaching control at the club, is now in doubt.
Liverpool's successful pursuit of Rodgers, who initially rejected their offer of an interview as he had no wish to be on a lengthy list of candidates, was confirmed in a magnanimous statement from the Swansea chairman.
Jenkins stated: "I was contacted by Liverpool last night and they expressed their wish to speak to Brendan. I had a discussion with Brendan to talk about their interest and his views on whether he wanted to speak to Liverpool. He expressed his wish with me to do that and he has spoken to Liverpool today.
"Following on from discussions with Liverpool's owners, Brendan has informed us that he would like to take up their offer to manage Liverpool. At the moment we are currently in talks with the owners to agree compensation. We are trying to finalise that within the next 24 hours. Although we are very disappointed to lose such a talented, young British manager, we didn't wish to stand in his way. As always at Swansea City, we want people working here who are fully committed to the task ahead. We wish Brendan every success in the future."
Gus Poyet, Ian Holloway and Alan Curbishley are among the early favourites to succeed Rodgers at Swansea and Jenkins added: "We will always remain good friends and we thank him for all his hard work and passion over the past two years," Jenkins added. "We shall now refocus and quickly start the process of finding his replacement to continue the great work Brendan has carried out."
Rodgers is expected to be officially unveiled as Liverpool manager at Anfield on Friday. He may yet be joined on the backroom staff by Steve Clarke who, as assistant manager to Dalglish, offered his resignation following the Anfield legend's departure. FSG rejected his resignation, however, and he may yet be reunited with Rodgers, a former colleague at Chelsea.
Martínez is also a candidate for the managerial vacancy at Aston Villa but the Wigan chairman, Dave Whelan, claims the Spaniard will not be leaving the DW Stadium. "Roberto is staying with us and I've agreed to his request to up our spending on youth development and training facilities," said Whelan. "That's going to be pretty costly as I have agreed to a full-sized indoor pitch – and that will cost £1.5million. Roberto's very keen on that aspect of the club. I have also agreed with him to bring in three or four new players." Read More
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