Jurgen Klopp wins his first battle at Liverpool as he gets McAllister and O'Driscoll shunted aside

Liverpool assistant manager O'Driscoll is apparently set to leave while coach McAllister has reportedly left his role, and is now considering whether or not to take up another job he has been offered at the Merseyside club.

Liverpool's head of performance, Glen Driscoll, and head of opposition analysis, Chris Davies, are also said to be leaving.

The moves mark a significant step in Liverpool's attempt to land Klopp as their new manager, since a report in German tabloid Bild on Thursday morning claimed that Liverpool were determined that the club should stick with McAllister and O'Driscoll.

O'Driscoll and McAllister's exits pave the way for Klopp to bring in his own men - and above all assistant coach Zeljko Buvac, the man who he has worked with throughout his management career.

The appointment of Buvac appeared to be a potential deal-breaker: fondly known as "das Gehirn" - or "The Brain" - he has been a close friend of Klopp's for over 20 years as well as a colleague. Klopp is also expected to bring in his own video analyst, Peter Krawietz.

The Bild report also claimed that Klopp will be offered €10 million a year to take over at Anfield - that's £7.5m, roughly £1.5m more than Brendan Rodgers was earning - but that Klopp also demanded he be able to make transfer decisions without input from the club's infamous Transfer Committee.

Assuming all the wrinkles are ironed out, Bild added, Klopp will be presented as the club's new manager at 11am on Friday.

Was this really Klopp's first internal battle for power at Anfield? The Bild report strongly suggests this, and if so then it's a big one for Klopp to win. Then again, the German boss was very much in a position to call the bluff of Liverpool owners FSG. While it's clear he fancies the Liverpool job, Bild also claim that Spurs had been in touch wanting him to take over at White Hart Lane, while there were also rumours swirling earlier in the week that Bayern Munich wanted him to join them when Pep Guardiola leaves at the end of the season.

Whatever the truth - and we may never know for sure what has happened behind the scenes - it seems that Klopp has got his way, and Liverpool have got their man. What's more, having gone all-in to land him by clearing out trusted and respected staff, Liverpool will have to give him serious backing in the transfer markets. It may yet be some time before Liverpool regain a seat at the top table of English football, and they may yet not get there - but at least they will now feel like they have a fighting chance. These are exciting times for Reds fans.