Liverpool set to unveil Rodgers as boss on Friday

Rodgers met Liverpool owner John Henry for talks on Wednesday and agreed to take charge of the Merseyside outfit provided the Reds could match the £5 million ($7.8 million) compensation fee in his contract with Swansea.

After several hours of discussions with Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins, Liverpool sealed the deal and former Reading and Watford boss Rodgers is now certain to succeed Kenny Dalglish, who was sacked two weeks ago at the conclusion of a miserable Premier League campaign.

As part of the compensation talks, Jenkins has also agreed to let assistant manager Colin Pascoe, performance analyst Chris Davies and head of sports science and medicine Glen Driscoll join Rodgers.

The 39-year-old is expected to sign a three-year contract and will be presented at a press conference at Anfield on Friday.

A statement on the Swansea website read: "We can confirm that a compensation package with Liverpool has been agreed for manager Brendan Rodgers and three members of his backroom staff.

"Both clubs have been in discussions to sort suitable compensation for Brendan along with assistant manager Colin Pascoe, performance analyst Chris Davies and head of sports science and medicine Glen Driscoll.

"The Swans have agreed to allow the backroom trio to join Brendan following discussions between himself and chairman Huw Jenkins.

"The club now starts its search for Brendan's successor."

Rodgers had refused a request to meet with Liverpool following Dalglish's sacking at the end of the Premier League campaign, but the Reds made a renewed effort to speak to him after holding discussions with Wigan's Roberto Martinez last week.

The Northern Irishman is reported to have made it clear to Henry he would not work under a director of football after Liverpool's American owners considered hiring former Ajax coach Louis van Gaal to fill that role.

But Henry seems to have agreed to that as he couldn't risk losing a man regarded as one of the Premier League's brightest young managers after guiding unheralded Swansea to an impressive 11th place finish on a relatively meagre budget just one season after securing promotion from the Championship.

Alan Curtis, who was Rodgers' first-team coach at Swansea, is confident his old boss can win over a sceptical fanbase, many of whom wanted a return for former boss Rafael Benitez.

"If the players buy into what Brendan's trying to preach to them, then you can only see good things to come for Liverpool," Curtis told talkSPORT.

"He's a top-class coach, a top-class manager, but he is a real top-class man as well.

"He has this knack of being able to say the right things, do the right things.

"He's got a British mentality, yet he has almost got a continental feel about him in the way that he coaches. It is a tremendous combination.

"I can see the Liverpool fans probably wanted a bigger name, but he is a terrific young manager.

"He is the epitome of the modern-day manager. He is bright, he is fresh, he is really innovative and I'm sure he will do a fantastic job there."

Rodgers' selection for one of English football's most prestigious posts completes a remarkable rise following his sacking as Reading boss just three years ago.

Since then Rodgers, who regards Jose Mourinho as his mentor after working as the Portuguese coach's reserve-team boss at Chelsea, has completely rehabilitated his reputation.

He studied coaching sessions at Barcelona and Ajax and copied those clubs' philosophies to help Swansea produce an eye-catching style of play which earned plaudits this season.

Now he will take over a Liverpool squad at a low ebb after finishing eighth in the Premier League, 17 points away from the Champions League spots that Henry had targeted at the start of the season.

The Reds did win the League Cup under Dalglish, but their season ended with a lacklustre 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup final against Chelsea.

And Dalglish's ruthless dismissal should make it clear to Rodgers that he must challenge for the Champions League places at the same time as reinvigorating a team sorely in need of an infusion of creativity and pace.