Liverpool are set to strengthen their recruitment operation with the arrival of Flamengo’s head of scouting Andrii Fedchenkov in January 2027, according to reports in Brazil.
The 30-year-old Ukrainian has reached an agreement to join Liverpool when his contract with Flamengo expires in December, according to ESPN Brasil journalist Bruno Andrade.
Fedchenkov is expected to see out his remaining commitments in Rio de Janeiro before moving to England in the new year.
Neither club has officially confirmed the agreement, and the exact position he would occupy within Liverpool’s recruitment structure remains unclear.
The development comes during a period of considerable change behind the scenes at Anfield, following the departure of sporting director Richard Hughes to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal in September.
Hughes was followed to Saudi Arabia by two members of Liverpool’s recruitment team, Mark Burchill and Craig McKee, leaving gaps within the club’s scouting structure.
Julian Ward returned as sporting director on 26 September, having previously held the position during the 2022-23 season. He works alongside assistant sporting director David Woodfine, chief scout Barry Hunter and FSG’s director of football development Pedro Marques.
Fedchenkov’s potential arrival could help address one of the gaps left by those departures, although it remains unclear whether he is being recruited directly into Ward’s department or for a wider role within FSG’s football operation.
Who is Andrii Fedchenkov?
Despite being just 30, Fedchenkov has already built an extensive career in European and South American football.
He began working in scouting at Karpaty Lviv in his native Ukraine before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018, where he worked under Portuguese recruitment specialist José Boto.
The pair subsequently worked together at Greek club PAOK before Fedchenkov moved to Cardiff City at the start of 2024.
Their professional relationship resumed in February 2025, when Boto, by then Flamengo’s director of football, brought Fedchenkov to Rio de Janeiro to oversee the Brazilian club’s scouting department.
Flamengo officially announced his appointment on 6 February 2025, placing him in charge of identifying and recommending players for both the senior squad and the club’s academy.
At the time, Flamengo highlighted his knowledge of the South American, European and Japanese markets, as well as his ability to speak five languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, Russian and Ukrainian.
His experience in several different football environments, combined with that international knowledge, offers some insight into why Liverpool may have identified him as a suitable addition.
What could he bring to Liverpool?
An interview Fedchenkov gave to Brazilian outlet ge in May 2025 provides a particularly interesting insight into his approach to recruitment.
During the interview, conducted as part of a detailed examination of Flamengo’s scouting operation, he explained how the club had been introducing more structured recruitment procedures under Boto.
These included developing a central database, introducing detailed player reports and improving communication between scouts, analysts and the coaching staff.
Fedchenkov also discussed integrating data analysis with traditional scouting to make better recruitment decisions.
His comments suggested a particular emphasis on making the recruitment process more efficient, ensuring that potential signings are assessed against clearly defined requirements for each position.
One of his more interesting observations concerned the signings that never happen.
He explained that supporters naturally focus on players their clubs purchase, but often overlook the importance of scouting departments identifying potential mistakes before money is committed.
In his view, stopping a club from making an expensive recruitment error is an important, if largely invisible, part of a scouting department’s work.
That philosophy would appear compatible with Liverpool’s established approach to recruitment, which has long placed considerable importance on detailed scouting, research and data analysis.
However, the Brazilian interview also makes clear that Fedchenkov has experience beyond simply identifying individual players. His responsibilities at Flamengo have included helping to organise the department itself and establishing the procedures used to assess potential signings.
That background could be particularly relevant given the changes Liverpool have recently experienced within their recruitment team.
For now, the suggestion that Fedchenkov is heading to Anfield remains an externally reported agreement rather than an appointment confirmed by Liverpool.
His career has already taken him through Ukraine, Greece, Wales and Brazil, and he has held a senior scouting position at one of South America’s biggest clubs.
Should the move go ahead as reported, Liverpool would be adding another internationally experienced recruitment specialist at a time when Ward is overseeing the next phase of the club’s football operation.
