Arsenal are exploring the possibility of making former midfielder Edu the club’s new director of football.
The Gunners are keen to add further expertise to their first-team operations as part of a restructuring which began when Arsene Wenger was in charge and continued this season with chief executive Ivan Gazidis’s departure to AC Milan.
Upon Gazidis’s exit, Raul Sanllehi was made head of football with Vinai Venkatesham moving from chief commercial officer to managing director while Sven Mislintat remained in his post as head of recruitment.
It is unclear as yet whether Mislintat would assume overall responsibility alongside or above a new appointment for the technical aspects of the club —including style of play, coaching and academy intake — but club view is that another addition is required.
Edu played for the Gunners between 2001 and 2005 making a total of 127 appearances before moving to Valencia and, in 2010 back to his first team in his native Brazil, Corinthians.
A year later he took up a director of football role with Corinthians and has since become technical director of the Brazil national team.
It is understood contact has been made between Arsenal and Edu. Reports in Brazil this morning go as far as suggesting the 40-year-old has been offered the job with Brazil’s football association aware of the situation.
There is no indication as yet whether Edu would accept a role to return to north London but he has been identified as a viable candidate given his links with Arsenal — Edu was part of the Invincibles squad which won the Premier League in 2004 and the Double two years earlier.
The move would take the Gunners further away from the autonomous management structure that existed under Wenger.
Gazidis may have left but the club remain keen to pursue a model which sees a comprehensive infrastructure around a head coach designed to provide stability and consistency regardless of who takes charge of the team.
Head coach Unai Emery is believed to be relaxed about the situation, having worked within similar frameworks at his previous clubs, most recently at Paris Saint-Germain in France.
The Gunners are yet to make a move in this month’s transfer window but talks are continuing between Aaron Ramsey and Juventus over a possible move to Italy.
Emery is keen to retain Ramsey and add Denis Suarez from Barcelona but the Gunners are unwilling to meet his £20million valuation, given their limited transfer funds.
Negotiating a fee for Ramsey — whose contract expires at the end of the season — could finance a deal for Suarez but Emery would preferably have both for the second half of the campaign.
It is too early to say whether Juventus will offer a cash fee to sign Ramsey this month or, for that matter, whether any of his other suitors, who include Liverpool, Manchester United, Inter Milan and AC Milan, will do the same to jump the queue.
Barcelona are yet to formalise any interest in Ramsey but a swap deal with Suarez could be a compromise which suits all parties, if they choose to pursue it.
Emery is keen to add cover at centre-back with Rob Holding a long-term absentee while Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring) and Laurent Koscielny (knee) are doubts for Saturday’s Premier League trip to West Ham.
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