Who is Andrea Berta? Arsenal 'lining up' Italian to replace Edu as sporting director
Arsenal may have finally found a new sporting director after Edu left the club.
As previously reported by NationalWorld, Brazilian sporting direcor Edu left his position at the Emirates towards the end of last year. The former footballer played for the Gunners in the early 2000s, but departed after what were described as “significant backroom changes”.
Edu then made a surprise switch to Nottingham Forest, with assistant Jason Ayto staying behind as interim sporting director. Arsenal have been looking for a permanent replacement ever since - and now seem to have found their man.
It comes after a January transfer window where no major signings were made for Arsenal, who now face spending the rest of the season without a striker after both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus picked up injuries. Sales for players on the fringes of the squad, such as Italian midfielder Jorginho, also fell through.
According to Football365, Arsenal have identified Andrea Berta as the most likely replacement, with an appointment set to be made this month. The likes of Dan Ashworth, Roberto Olabe and Thiago Scuro are also being considered.
This has since been backed up by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. Posting on X, he said: “[I] understand Andrea Berta is now the top candidate to become new Arsenal director in order to replace Edu. Discussions already took place.”
For many fans, Berta will be an unfamiliar name - but those inside sporting circles absolutely know who he is. An Italian businessman, Berta is best known for his role as sporting director for LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid, taking the role in 2017.
Under his watchful eye, the club has signed the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher, while making huge profits from selling players such as Rodri, Matheus Cunha and Thomas Partey.
Prior to his stint at Atletico Madrid, before recently leaving the club, he had been the sporting director for Italian clubs Parma and Genoa.