Report: Liverpool assistant Željko Buvač held ‘secret meeting’ before walkout

He was nowhere to be seen in the preparations for the Champions League semi-final against Roma.

Željko Buvač's time at Liverpool appears to be up after the coach fell out with his long-term associate Jürgen Klopp. During the preparations for last week's Champions League semi-final against Roma, Buvač was nowhere to be seen, sparking speculation on his whereabouts and his future at Liverpool. It has been reported by the Irish Mirror that Liverpool's assistant manager was contacted by Sven Mislintat, Arsenal's new head of recruitment, to discuss the possibility of succeeding Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, and that Buvač kept this information secret from Klopp. Upon finding out about Buvač's correspondence with Mislintat via contacts at Borussia Dortmund, Klopp was reportedly furious. A row ended in in the pair parting ways for the time being, with Liverpool issuing a statement saying:

"Zeljko is spending some time away from the first-team environment, between now and the end of the season, for personal reasons." "The club considers the matter to be private and therefore will respect that privacy by not making any further comment. Zeljko remains a Liverpool employee and his position at the club is not affected by this absence."

Klopp and Buvač have long been partners in crime, having worked together since 2001 at three different clubs: Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool. This fall out could draw their partnership to a close, with Buvač one of the leading candidates to take the Arsenal job. It would be his first ever position as a first team manager at the age of 56-years-old.