Roy Hodgson set for Liverpool

The following story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club:

Roy Hodgson is to be confirmed as Liverpool's new manager in the next 24 hours.

The 62-year-old Fulham boss has been the overwhelming favourite for the job since Rafael Benitez's six-year tenure was ended earlier this month.

Anfield officials were granted permission to speak to Hodgson following his return from the World Cup finals in South Africa last week where he had been working for the BBC.

Those talks have proved fruitful with Hodgson relishing the chance to transform the club's fortunes after a miserable campaign saw Liverpool finish seventh in the Premier League.

Fulham owner and chairman Mohamed Al Fayed was desperate to keep hold of Hodgson, who led the Londoners to their first ever European final last season.

However, he has had to admit defeat and the two clubs are expected to tie up a compensation deal worth around £2million.

Liverpool's four-week search for Benitez's successor, which was led by managing director Christian Purslow, has seen them speak to a number of top bosses across Europe, including former Real Madrid and Villarreal manager Manuel Pellegrini and Galatasaray chief Frank Rijkaard.

Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill, Marseille boss Didier Deschamps, Croatia coach Slaven Bilic and former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes were also linked with the post.

Liverpool legend and club ambassador Kenny Dalglish was keen to get another shot at the job he held between 1985 and 1991 but the fact that he had been out of management for a decade counted against him.

Hodgson, who is likely to bring Fulham assistant Mike Kelly with him to Liverpool, boasts a wealth of experience with his managerial career spanning nearly 35 years and involving stints at no fewer than 12 top flight European clubs and three international jobs.

The highly-respected figure has won the Swedish and Danish league titles, reached two European finals and taken Switzerland to their first World Cup finals in 28 years.

The Croydon-born boss's journey to the top flight began with an undistinguished playing career in non-league football.

After moving into coaching, he landed his first job aged 28 at Swedish outfit Halmstads in 1976 and led them to two league titles. A brief spell at Bristol City followed before he returned to Sweden and enjoyed success at Malmo.

Hodgson went on to lead the Swiss to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and two years later was snapped up by Inter Milan. The highlight in Italy was guiding them to the 1997 UEFA Cup final where they lost on penalties to Schalke.

Hodgson got his first crack at the Premier League when he took over at Blackburn later that year but after a solid start it went swiftly downhill and in December 1998 he was sacked.

He then had spells at Grasshopper, Copenhagen and Udinese before taking over the United Arab Emirates.

Hodgson returned to club management with Norwegian outfit Viking and was then boss of Finland prior to his appointment at Fulham in December 2007.

During his time at Craven Cottage he has enhanced his reputation - dragging them to safety in 2007/08 before steering them to seventh place in the Premier League the following campaign.

Last season Fulham reached the first major European final in their history. A remarkable run saw them knockout holders Shakhtar, Juventus and Hamburg before losing 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final and in the league they ended up 12th.

Hodgson, who signed a new 12-month rolling contract with Fulham in December 2009, was voted the LMA Manager of the Year and won widespread praise for his achievements on a limited budget.

He has been linked with the England manager's job after the national side's miserable exit from the World Cup finals.

However, the Football Association have vowed to take a fortnight to ponder Fabio Capello's future and Hodgson won't wait to see if he's wanted by his country.

Liverpool players not involved in the World Cup will report back at Melwood tomorrow and one of Hodgson's first tasks will be trying to convince star players like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to remain at Anfield.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.