Liverpool move closer to recruiting Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool are in the process of tying up loose ends on a deal with Swansea which will allow Brendan Rodgers to be officially confirmed as their new manager.

Talks which began yesterday regarding compensation, with the Welsh club looking for between £4million and £5million to cover the three-and-a-half-year contract the Northern Irishman signed in February, appear to have been straightforward today.

Another point of contention was Rodgers' desire to bring members of his backroom staff with three in line to make the move to Anfield.

Reports in Wales suggest the trio are Rodgers' trusted assistant performance analyst Chris Davies and performance consultant Glen Driscoll.

Once those have all been ratified - and there is yet to be confirmation from either club - then the Reds can officially install Rodgers as successor to Kenny Dalglish, although an announcement may still not be made until tomorrow.

The new manager's first job will be to assess the squad he has inherited and start making plans for the summer transfer window, which is complicated slightly by Euro 2012.

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani admits he is keen for the new manager to be put in place so he can discuss his own future.

The Italy international has been sent out on loan back to his homeland the last two seasons and although a deal was in place for AC Milan to buy him this summer he did not play the required 25 matters to trigger his £6.5million compulsory purchase.

"I'm waiting for Liverpool to decide the name of the new coach, then we will meet in order to understand their plans," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Only then will I be able to make the right decision. It is important that I have the opportunity to make a contribution, to be able to play well and play regularly.

"I need to understand whether there are conditions for an agreement that satisfies everyone."

Milan still have the option to renegotiate a deal but Aquilani's agent Franco Zavaglia said the onus was now with Liverpool.

"The situation is that there have been no developments," he told spaziomilan.it.

"We must be patient and wait for Liverpool to make a decision.

"There is no problem, but before talking about what Alberto wants to do we must first understand what the British club intend to do."

PA