Zeljko Buvac's leave of absence from Liverpool comes at 'terrible' time, says Ian Wright
Wednesday 2 May 2018 19:50, UK
Zeljko Buvac's leave of absence has come at a 'terrible' time ahead of Liverpool's Champions League semi-final with Roma, says Ian Wright.
The Liverpool assistant manager, described by Jurgen Klopp as 'the brain', has been granted temporary leave by the Merseyside club for personal reasons.
The Bosnian has since emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, although Sky in Germany understand he is currently in Mainz.
Reports in Germany claim there has been a disagreement between Klopp and his assistant but Liverpool insist Buvac will return to his role at Anfield and his position at the club is not affected by this absence.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's clash at the Stadio Olimpico, Wright told The Debate: "To lose the 'brains' at this stage, it can't be great.
"I don't know how Klopp is going about making sure he can fill that void, but to lose somebody like that at this stage is not good timing. It's terrible timing.
"As close as Klopp and Buvac have been, is what has happened so bad that he has got to leave at this stage of the season, ahead of this crunch game?
"Couldn't he at least wait until after this game? Even if you get to the final you can deal with it because there is some build-up time.
"When you consider that Buvac has been with Klopp for 17 years, it is very strange timing for this to happen."
