Liverpool Assistant Manager to Leave Reds With Official Departure Set to Be Announced Soon

Sources close to Liverpool have revealed that Jurgen Klopp's long time assistant manager Zeljko Buvac will not be returning to his role with the Merseyside club.

Buvac has been on leave for personal reasons since April and the club's official line on the matter is that Buvac is still an employee, with no update on the reasons for his absence.

The Liverpool Echo understand that the Bosnian will end his working relationship with Klopp and with the Reds imminently, with an announcement likely to happen in the coming weeks.

It was suspected that this would happen ever since former youth team coach Pep Lijnders was brought back to Anfield earlier this summer, following an unsuccessful attempt at management in the Netherlands with NEC.

Sure enough, Lijnders seems to have taken up Buvac's role in the first team set-up, with observers reporting that he has been taking a more active role in training since returning to the club.

Liverpool are currently on tour in the United States and Lijnders was closely involved as the Reds players were put through their paces in Charlotte on Sunday. The Dutchman was very vocal and made sure the players were kept in line.

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Reds supporters will be justifiably concerned at how Jurgen Klopp will cope without the man who has been by his side throughout his managerial career.

Buvac was assistant manager to Klopp at Mainz for seven years before following him to Borussia Dortmund, where the two men enjoyed great success together, twice winning the Bundesliga title.

He again joined Klopp when the German signed with Liverpool in 2015 but their 17-year working relationship is finally set to end amid speculation of a bust-up between the pair.