Arsenal have swooped in to make Andoni Zubizarreta their director of football - and the former Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper is weighing up the offer.
The Gunners were forced to go back to the drawing board in their bid to replace Sven Mislintat after No.1 target Monchi performed a remarkable turnaround and opted to return to Sevilla.
Club chiefs also earmarked former Arsenal midfielder Marc Overmars as a potential candidate, but he has since penned a contract extension at Ajax.
That has led them to Marseille's Spanish sporting director, and the club hope to have someone in place to help shape their summer transfer policy.
The former goalkeeper played over 300 times for Barcelona and won over 100 Spain caps during his playing days and was named director of football at Barcelona in 2010.
Arsenal identify fresh No.1 target for director of football role
He signed the likes of Neymar, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jordi Alba during his time at the Nou Camp before being sacked in 2015.
Marseille handed him a return to the game as sporting director in October 2016, and they currently sit fifth in Ligue 1.
Arsenal are facing a huge summer and look set to be required to work on a tight budget.
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Manager Unai Emery recently discussed the importance of bringing in a director of football to work on transfers behind the scenes so he can concentrate on his side.
"We need a sporting director, it's coming," Emery declared.
"The most important thing is my focus with the players in each match. "The club is working and thinking for next season."
