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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

What Chelsea and Todd Boehly can learn from Arsenal's Edu decision ahead of transfer window

Arsenal have appointed Edu as the club's first-ever Sporting Director.

A statement on the club's official website read: "We are delighted to announce that Edu Gaspar has been appointed as Arsenal's first-ever Sporting Director.

"Edu's promotion sees him assume over-arching responsibility for all our Academy activities, in addition to his existing responsibilities across men's and women's football."

READ MORE: Mudryk up top, Ndicka in defence: Arsenal's dream line up come January after £107m Edu spree

Speaking about his new appointment, the Brazilian said: "I'm delighted to have this new role which I see as an evolution and consolidation of the way we've been working. We are making good progress in all areas of our men's, women's and academy, and we are all excited about what can be achieved.

"I look forward to building on the hard work of so many people and helping all of us grow together and enjoy more success, and I am thankful for the trust the club has put in me. We move forward together."

Whilst it's another positive step in Arsenal's continued rebuild, it serves as a reminder to Todd Boehly and Chelsea that the project is merely underway at Stamford Bridge. Several appointments have been made recently, with the latest of those being Director of Global Talent and Transfers, Paul Winstanley.

Winstanley is the third appointment at director level that Chelsea have announced after snapping up Laurence Stewart from Monaco, and Southampton's Joe Shields in their new-look recruitment department, although the latter isn't able to start at SW6 until he is finished with Southampton.

It comes as part of a wider revamp of the internal model at the club after Petr Cech, Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia all left their senior roles in the summer. Nevertheless, they've been searching for a new Sporting Director of their own for a while now, with Boehly and Behdad Eghbali acting as interim sporting directors.

Some reports have suggested that Boehly will continue in the role until January at least, but with such an important transfer window ahead, the American and the club need to be decisive, just like Arsenal have been.

The Gunners' leadership team has been in place for some time. Although Chelsea's new-look team at the top will need time to gel, Boehly should look to complete it before the window opens so that Chelsea are in the best possible position to work in the market and beyond.

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