Football Insider exclusive as Liverpool owner John Henry stares across a split image towards manager Andoni Iraola.
Football Insider exclusive as Liverpool owner John Henry stares across a split image towards manager Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool will look to target the South American market long-term after appointing Andrii Fedchenkov as their new head of scouting operations.
That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who expects the Reds to start looking to discover more gems from the region.
This comes amid the news that Fedchenko will start work at Anfield in January, after his contract with Brazilian side Flamengo expires in December.
Wyness believes that Fedchenko has been highly recommended to Liverpool, after building a strong portfolio over in South America.
The 30-year-old is set to arrive as part of the overhaul behind the scenes at Liverpool following the departure of sporting director Richard Hughes.
Fedchenkov is not directly taking over Hughes' responsibilities, but will be heading the scouting team at first-team level for the coming years.
Andrii Fedchenkov to help Liverpool evade 'tax'
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Fedchenkov's arrival will help Liverpool to dodge the "tax" on South American signings in future.
The Scottish businessman outlined that the Merseysiders will hope to snatch young talents on the cheap, before they move to Europe and gain a premium price tag.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he explained how Fedchenov's arrival is a clear indication of Liverpool's new angle.
"Well, I've got to say, a Ukrainian in South America is not the normal sort of pattern that you would see in this chain of employment, that's for sure," he said.
"What it does do though is, and I can see where they're going with it to a degree, is that he will understand that South American pipeline.
"Flamengo is a big club and they'll have had a lot of looks at young talent over there. And the idea is, I think, to try and get that South American talent before it comes across to Europe and then you pay the euro tax on it once they've established themselves and done well.
"He obviously comes highly recommended, and it's a big appointment. There's still a huge amount of talent that's untapped in that area."
Liverpool set sights on Bart Verbruggen
Football Insider revealed earlier this week that Liverpool are set to line up a move to sign Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen next summer.
The Dutch shot-stopper has built a growing reputation for himself, and that has attracted interest from some of Europe's elite clubs of late.
Sources say that Liverpool view him as an ideal long-term replacement for Alisson, but are well aware that they will face serious competition for his signature.
Verbruggen's stock is high at the moment, and he has even been subject to interest from Real Madrid in recent weeks.