Zeljko Buvac, the Liverpool assistant manager, has taken a leave of absence from the club due to “personal reasons”.
Liverpool confirmed this on Monday after reports breaking on Sunday evening claimed Buvac had left the club after a dispute with Jürgen Klopp. This, the club said, was not the case, with the Bosnian Serb remaining part of the staff at Anfield.
Despite this, extraordinary claims from Buvac’s homeland have suggested the 56-year-old is set to leave Merseyside and is poised to take over from Arsene Wenger as Arsenal’s new manager.
Pravda BL (via Sport Witness) have run an exclusive story claiming everything is in place for Buvac to become manager at The Emirates, contradicting word from Liverpool that his temporary absence will not affect his status as an employee at the club.
Although news that Buvac is set to replace Wenger may come as a surprise to many, the report also points out that it was the same publication that broke the news of Jürgen Klopp’s (and Buvac’s) arrival at Liverpool in October 2015.
Buvac’s relationship with Klopp spans nearly three decades and stretches back to their playing days at Mainz. He was assistant to Klopp at the same club, following him to Borussia Dortmund and then on to Liverpool.
A decision to appoint Buvac as Wenger’s successor would certainly be seen as a bold move from Arsenal, who have also been linked with Mikel Arteta, Brendan Rodgers and Luis Enrique.
If he does make the move to Arsenal, he would follow Sven Mislintat, their new head of recruitment, who worked as Dortmund’s head scout throughout the time Buvac was assistant manager there to Klopp. Since Mislintat’s arrival in January, the Gunners have also brought in former Dortmund players Henrikh Mkhitaryan (via Manchester United) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
