Arsenal sporting director Edu is personally pushing for the club to sign a £70 million player, with the help of his close advisor and chief scout Paulo Xavier.
Edu identifies Arsenal targets for summer transfer window
The Brazilian, who works in tandem with manager Mikel Arteta, has long identified their possible signings for this looming summer window – which is set to open on June 14, the same day Euro 2024 kicks off.
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Friday is set to be a very significant day in the footballing calendar as a result, and it's a date which Edu has firmly had in mind since January.
The transfer chief admitted to TNT Sports that he's been working on Arsenal's summer plans for that length of time, and also claimed in a later interview with Estadao (via football.london) that he often works his way through 180-page reports on potential targets.
"You can’t sign players for the sake of signing," said Edu.
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"This has to be a process that takes weeks and weeks. There on my desk, I have reports with more than 180 pages on a player.
"It’s really detailed stuff. Physical, technical, mental profile, if you have Premier League experience, if you will be able to adapt. It has everything. We analyse our weaknesses, where we can improve, where we can invest and then we go in search of that new name. What I am going to do now, we have been discussing since January. It’s not my decision or Mikel’s alone. It belongs to a whole group."
A significant member of Edu's recruitment staff is Xavier, who formerly worked at Real Madrid. He joined Arsenal last year, arriving in north London with a glowing reputation, and has already recommended some interesting players.
Xavier is one of Edu's closest advisors at Arsenal, and even told the club to make a potential move for young Brazil full-back Yan Couto following an excellent campaign at Girona. Now, it appears both Edu and Xavier have another Brazilian on their radar, in the form of Nottingham Forest defender Murillo.
Edu pushing to sign Murillo for Arsenal
That is according to Football Transfers, who claim Edu is pushing to sign Murillo for Arsenal, with the 21-year-old thought to be on Xavier's radar for a long time. That bodes well for the Gunners, considering Real's ex-scout was responsible for bringing in the likes of Vinicius Jr and Endrick to the Bernabeu.
Murillo, who could cost as much as £70 million to prise away from the City Ground, was a key player under both Steve Cooper and Nuno Espirito Santo last season – starting 32 Premier League games and helping to steer Forest away from the drop zone.
"You can just see the quality that he possesses. He’s going to be a real fan favourite," said Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp.
“He possesses a lot of weapons in his armoury – he’s got a lovely left foot which I think gives you a massive advantage."