By Ian Ladyman
Liverpool expect to unveil Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers as their manager this morning and he is believed to be considering a bid for the Welsh club’s young midfielder Joe Allen.
Rodgers has agreed a three-year deal to succeed Kenny Dalglish, although negotiations looked set to be held up by a wrangle over compensation. However, the Carling Cup winners have agreed to pay the £5million that was in Rodgers’ contract.
He has been told he can spend this summer and Sportsmail can reveal that, as well as attempting to hijack Swansea’s £6.8m move for Hoffenheim’s Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, Rodgers wants his old club’s highly-rated Wales playmaker Allen, whom he sees as the type of player he needs to transfer his pass-and-move style of football to Anfield. That will cast doubts on the futures of Liverpool midfielders such as Charlie Adam.
Allen, 22 and a product of the Swansea youth system, is known as a creative midfielder player and played 44 times last season. With three years left on his contract, Rodgers may have to pay in excess of £10m to sign him.
Swansea are sure to fight hard to hang on to Allen, especially as Rodgers is already taking three members of his backroom staff to Anfield.
The 39-year-old has been given the go-ahead by Liverpool owners FSG to bring assistant manager Colin Pascoe, head of performance analysis Chris Davies and performance consultant Glen Driscoll to Anfield.
Swansea confirmed that compensation had been agreed for all three and their appointments will be finalised. Dalglish’s assistant Steve Clarke has had one resignation offer rejected at Anfield but it is understood that he will now leave.
Rodgers has been told there are no huge expectations for his debut season, while he has indicated to the owners that Liverpool are a club in need of major change and that will take time.
