Arsenal are reportedly closing in on the transfer of Brazilian wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli under likely new technical director Edu.
According to the Daily Mail, the Gunners have identified their former midfielder, a title winner and Invincible with the club in 2003/04, as the leading candidate to come in as technical director after missing out on Monchi.
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It remains to be seen if Edu can definitely be brought in, but the Mail suggest it’s on the cards, and that Martinelli looks like being his first signing.
The 17-year-old attacking midfielder has been linked with the club before, with the Sun recently claiming things were moving along nicely in terms of bringing him to the Emirates Stadium.
One imagines the Edu link could help Arsenal get the Martinelli transfer through, and the Mail explain he’s on the verge of committing himself to the north London giants.
While it might be some time before we see the teenager in Unai Emery’s first-team, he looks an exciting talent who could make an impact in the future.
Arsenal don’t have the finances of their big six rivals, so need a top technical director to help them identify young talent on the cheap, following the model of clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla in recent times.