London, July 23: Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have reportedly identified a new man who will be the German's assistant for the upcoming Premier League season, replacing long-time assistant Zeljko Buvac.

Buvac left Liverpool last season midway without referring the reason of his departure. The German was left without an assistant just days before the second leg of the Reds' Champions League semi-final clash with Roma back in April.

Liverpool and Klopp both remained coy when asked about the decision and it was believed that the Bosnian-Serb left the side in search of a managerial role.

However, with so many days passed and no concrete report of him having a managerial job has been revealed yet. Many fans have been speculating that a rift between him and Klopp could be the reason behind his departure.

Nevertheless, according to recent reports, Buvac will not be returning to Liverpool now and the club is expected to confirm Pep Lijnders as his replacement.

Zeljko Buvac won't be returning to Liverpool and his 17-year working relationship with Jurgen Klopp is effectively over, say the Echo.

— Oliver Bond (@Oliver__Bond) July 22, 2018

Lijnders earlier worked at Liverpool under Rodgers and Klopp, however, left the side last year to take charge of a managerial role with NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands. However, he was recently sacked which saw him returning to Anfield.

Lijnders in his whole career has mostly worked as development or first-team coach, however, it will be the first time he will be promoted to the assistant manager's role, replacing Klopp's long-term partner Buvac.

Buvac worked alongside Klopp for the best part of 17 years until that Roma tie up and had also been his number two at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund. But the long-association is now expected to end from the current campaign.

Buvac, however, is reportedly still contracted with Liverpool but is expected to be released from all his duties in the coming days.