CONFIRMED: Richard Hughes set to make first Liverpool January addition

It's all hands on deck for a hectic January at Anfield. Liverpool FC have a packed schedule for sporting director Richard Hughes to contend with.

First and foremost, there is the issue of Darwin Nunez's future to resolve, with the Uruguay forward being the subject of intense transfer speculation from Saudi Arabia.

EXCLUSIVE: Anfield to seal record-breaking transfer for exceptional teenager

Then there is the possibility of an agreement being made with Nurnburg and PAOK for teenage prodigy Stefanos Tzimas, with the Reds seeking to finalise the striker's transfer.

Meanwhile, Kaide Gordon and Calvin Ramsay will be sending off to new loan clubs for the second half of the season, while there may be movement regarding Stefan Bajcetic as well.

Liverpool seeking a Scandinavian scout

Aside from the pitch, there are matters to attend to, with the club now actively in the process of recruiting a new Scandinavian scout.

An advertisement on LinkedIn indicates that the club is looking for: “An individual based in Scandinavia with proven Scouting & Recruitment experience to join our Liverpool FC team as a Regional Scout.”

The successful applicant will assess players in the region and compile short lists of possible signings. They will also attend matches and observe the opposition, in addition to producing match reports on targets for Liverpool.

Liverpool will be looking to get an early start on Premier League and European rivals in the Scandinavian transfer market in the upcoming transfer windows.

Recently, players such as Hugo Larsson, Momodou Sonko and Malick Yalcouyène have hailed from Sweden's top division, with Liverpool believed to be interested in signing them.

Sweden internationals Alexander Isak and new Tottenham recruit Lucas Bergvall both began their careers in the Swedish leagues before making the move to more prominent teams.

In Denmark, a host of talented young players have recently made big money moves into top European leagues, with Ernest Nuamah, Orri Oskarsson, Ibrahim Osman and Conrad Harder all emerging from the Danish Superliga.

In Norway, Erling Haaland and Victor Boniface, among others, took their first major steps in their professional careers.

There are significant changes taking place in Liverpool's scouting department this year, as the Reds' director of scouting and recruitment, Dave Fallows, is departing after 12 years of service.

In the meantime, Copenhagen-based scout Mads Jorgensen departed Liverpool last week to join the ranks of Norwegian club Molde.

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool receive INSANE contract offer for Darwin Nunez

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Liverpool line up TWO wonderkids to replace Darwin Nunez

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Anfield Watch understands that Liverpool are open to offloading Darwin Nunez next year. In fact, they're now open to doing so this month, provided they can get a buyer who meets their extremely high asking price.

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool-linked Darwin Nunez lands ABSOLUTE BARGAIN transfer offer

Now, it's not clear how likely that is. Al-Hilal do want Nunez but, of course, we don't know exactly what they're prepared to pay.

Saudi Pro League teams aren't the most predictable in the world and it could well be that they pay him up. However, even if they don't, the writing is on the wall for Nunez.

He hasn't lived up to the expectations of Liverpool thus far. His style of football isn't really compatible with Arne Slot's team's approach, and certainly not as much so as it was with Jurgen Klopp's.

Of course, it's still the case that if he was a more reliable strike, Nunez would be at any top club in the world. Sadly, we've reached the stage where nobody actually expects this level of clinical finishing to materialise.

So we expect Liverpool to try to either sell Nunez to a good buyer this summer, or perhaps hold out for an offer later on. The reason for this is probably because the Reds are preparing for the next season, which is something to get optimistic about.

Liverpool's wonderkid plan

As revealed by Anfield Watch at the weekend, Liverpool are prepared to offer around £25m for Stefanos Tzimas. They're open to parting with that amount this month, although that might be dependent on Nunez leaving.

Tzimas, however, would be a substitute. He's younger, still only 19, and has a different profile to Nunez. He's also more suitable to be brought in and out of the team at this stage in his career.

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Danns came off the bench to score against Accrington Stanley on Saturday, of course. The teenager now boasts an impressive record for the Liverpool senior side

It would seem that Danns has a very promising future ahead of him. Team him up with players like Tzimas and Liverpool would then have a very promising future indeed.

We've seen how Arne Slot has improved players quickly when they 'get' his system. Danns proved he can adapt to it in rapid time this weekend, while there's great hope that Tzimas has the ideal profile for the future.

And Liverpool are being clever by hedging their bets. Maybe one of the two young forwards won't quite live up to expectations – but by taking a chance on both, the Reds substantially increase their chances of finding a top-class striker.

And who knows, perhaps both of them might become stars.

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool to pay a players transfer record-breaking fee for a top young talent

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