Arsenal technical director Edu has revealed that he walked away from a deal to sign a Borussia Dortmund star due to the player's stance on his contract.
The Brazilian transfer chief has been extremely busy during the opening six weeks of the summer transfer window, splashing in excess of £110 million on five-first team signings. American shot-stopper Matt Turner, young Brazilian attacker Marquinhos, talented Portuguese playmaker Fabio Vieira as well as former Manchester City duo Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all arrived at the Emirates Stadium over the last couple of months. Now, Edu has spoken in depth about his job, admitting that he isn't afraid to walk away from negotiations if the player's attitude isn't right.
"Face to face — I go there, I meet the player, if I have to travel to Germany, anywhere. I want to see the player, the agent, the family, put everyone together and say, 'Guys, listen to me and what I want to say," he told football.london.
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"And then I sell what we are doing, our project. Because it works both ways, doesn't it? I want to show them, but I want to see as well if they want to enjoy because if I smell something wrong (then) thank you very much, I go (and don't sign them).
"I faced an experience like this for a player in Dortmund. I started to talk to them, engage the player, talk to the family, but always, 'Yeah, but what about my contract?'.
"I said, 'Listen, I want to understand first if you engage with this if you like this. If you like it, I can talk, but not the opposite side'. 'Ah no, let's talk about the money…' No, no, no, no. And one day, I said to the agent: 'Guys, thank you very much. It's not what I want to do'. Boom."
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