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Hodgson set to be named new Liverpool manager

Roy Hodgson was named manager of the year last season © Getty Images

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Roy Hodgson will be named the new Liverpool manager as early as Wednesday according to widespread reports in England.

Liverpool have agreed a compensation package with Hodgson's current club, Fulham, of around £2 million to secure his services for the next two seasons, reports claim.

Hodgson's first point of business is believed to be convincing Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay at Anfield, despite the club's poor fortunes last season and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Liverpool's future with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett still searching for a buyer. Hodgson's No. 2 and goalkeeping coach at Fulham, Mike Kelly, is expected to follow the 62-year-old to Anfield.

Hodgson won admirers by guiding Fulham to last season's Europa League final at the expense of clubs such as Juventus and Wolfsburg, placing him among a long list of candidates linked with the post vacated by Rafael Benitez by mutual consent at the start of June. Former Reds boss Kenny Dalglish, now an Academy ambassador at the club, was tasked with assisting managing director Christian Purslow in identifying the right man before himself emerging as a serious candidate for a second stint at the helm.

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill, Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, Galatasaray's Frank Rijkaard and former Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini were among those also talked about, but Hodgson was widely believed to be the number one contender. A seventh-place finish in the 2008/09 Premier League campaign also represented uncharted territory, and Hodgson excelled in the league once again last term as he kept Fulham comfortably in mid-table throughout a taxing campaign in Europe.

He was named manager of the year by the League Managers Association in 2009/10. Hodgson started out in management in 1976 with Swedish side Halmstad and also counts Bristol City, Inter Milan and Blackburn among his former clubs. He has also managed at international level with Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates.

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