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West Ham United fear their technical director Tim Steidten could be in the running to replace Edu at Arsenal.
Edu shocked Arsenal earlier this week by announcing he was leaving his role as sporting director. The Brazilian is on gardening leave and has a six-month notice period, meaning he will still be free to take up any new job in time for next summer’s transfer window. This may help explain the timing of his decision.
Edu is set to take on a new role as global head of football in a multi-club structure, although a deal is yet to be signed. Arsenal were prepared to offer him a pay rise to stay and, although he insists money was not the reason for his departure, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is believed to is prepared to pay him more than £5 million a year. Besides Forest, Marinakis’ portfolio includes Greek club Olympiacos and Portuguese club Rio Ave.
Arsenal will take their time before deciding how to replace Edu. Although the decision comes as a surprise, the club is adamant it will not affect the way they operate as they already have a strong management team.
However, the departure comes at a bad time in Arsenal’s season with Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Inter Milan, their third defeat in six games in all competitions. They now face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, desperately needing a win to get their Premier League title challenge back on track.
There is little concern heading into the January transfer window that Arsenal’s plans will be affected and the club will prefer to take their time, especially if they have to consider external candidates. That said, it will also take time to pry someone from a rival club if that is the way forward.
Jason Ayto, the highly-rated assistant sporting director who has been Edu’s right-hand man, is set to take on a wider role while co-chairman Josh Kroenke and key executives Tim Lewis and Richard Garlick decide with manager Mikel Arteta on the best way to move forward. .
Part of the discussions will focus on whether to do a like-for-like replacement or redefine the role. For example, will it involve, as with Edu, the academy and the women’s team or will it only focus on the men’s team?
Edu was only promoted from technical director to sporting director in 2022, after joining Arsenal three years earlier, to reflect the good work he had done. He enjoyed a close working relationship with Arteta who said before the Inter game that the two men had a “special chemistry”, while adding that Edu’s departure would not affect “the plan and the vision” of Arsenal.
Managers are already expected to travel to the United States for talks with club owner Stan Kroenke during next week’s international break. The discussions have nothing to do with Edu’s decision and were on the agenda before it was announced on Monday.
However, given the news, how Arsenal proceed from now on will surely be a matter of discussion. If Steidten becomes a candidate, it would be a surprise given the German’s track record at West Ham since being named the club’s technical director on July 23. The 45-year-old is in charge of recruitment and player scouting, working closely with sporting director Mark Noble. Steidten had previously fulfilled a similar role at Bayer Leverkusen.
With the departure of David Moyes this summer, Steidten has taken more control. West Ham have spent more than £100m on nine new signings but have seen no improvement due to increasing scrutiny on a number of underperforming players. Some, like Guido Rodriguez, transferred for free from Real Betis, were sought-after signings by new head coach Julen Lopetegui. Others have been identified by Steidten, who is at the forefront of what is happening at West Ham.
However, it is understood that if Arsenal or any other club made a bid to sign him, West Ham would still want him to stay.
It was also suggested that while Steidten was OK with hiring Lopetegui, the Spaniard was not his preferred first choice, although bringing in Rúben Amorim from Sporting, on his way to Manchester United, was always unrealistic.
Lopetegui is under pressure after a disappointing start to the season but Telegraph sport He understands he will remain in charge whatever the result of Saturday’s Premier League home game against Everton.
Even if West Ham lose, Lopetegui should be in the dugout for West Ham’s first game after the international break against Newcastle United.
West Ham nevertheless remain concerned about the start of the campaign with the club just six points clear of the relegation places after a series of poor performances.
There are undoubtedly mitigating factors to this difficult start – not least because West Ham have had a poor run of results dating back to the start of this year. But while the hierarchy is used to keeping faith in managers and reviewing the situation at the end of each season, Lopetegui needs positive results and performances to strengthen his position.
