Arsenal’s five sporting director candidates revealed with imminent appointment expected

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Arsenal’s pursuit of a new sporting director is set to come to an end.

Edu left Arsenal in November after agreeing to oversee operations across multiple clubs owned by Evangelos Marinakis.

Chief Scout and Recruitment coordinator Jason Ayto has stood in for the Brazilian on an interim basis since the departure.

Ayto was criticised for Arsenal’s lack of transfer activity in January, although the Englishman is said to be in contention to land the job permanently, along with four other primary candidates.

• READ MORE: Arsenal’s stance on sacking Mikel Arteta revealed as club insiders outline ‘shock’ at current discussions on future

Arsenal’s five sporting director candidates revealed

According to the Athletic, Arsenal want to appoint a new sporting director by the end of March, with the process of selecting the right candidate still ongoing.

Ayto is being considered, as are the likes of Dan Ashworth, Andrea Berta, Roberto Olabe and Thiago Scuro.

KSE are understood to be heavily involved in the recruitment process, which was initially headed by an independent recruitment firm.

Luis Campos was said to be in the frame a few days ago, but the Athletic report that the PSG chief isn’t being considered by Arsenal at this time.

The Gunners are eager to make the appointment well before the summer transfer window commences, to ensure the new hire has time to integrate and prepare transfer plans.

Arsenal shouldn’t appoint Jason Ayto as sporting director

While Ayto is highly regarded in the realm of player recruitment and scouting, the football administrator has little experience negotiating with agents or with other big football clubs.

For this reason, he should be kept in the department that he specialises in, and not promoted to the sporting direct role.

A more experienced head who has a track record of overseeing successful footballing projects is needed to lead the next iteration of Arsenal.

Ayto’s brief interim spell in the Emirates hot-seat has exposed his inability to improvise and make quick decisions that may not perfectly align with the long-term plan.

This was shown with how the January window unfolded, when he failed to add another attacker to Mikel Arteta’s squad, despite the glaring need to do so.

One of the other candidates should win the job.