Edu's exit from Arsenal is not yet official but it already looks as though the Brazilian, largely responsible for restoring the Gunners as a Premier League force in recent seasons, will be going straight into another job and wont be going very far.
Reports of the former midfielder's decision to step down from his sporting director role at Arsenal emerged first thing on Monday morning. It was not initially known why or where he might end up, but that soon became apparent as well.
Multiple reports have it that Edu will be linking up with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also counts Greek giants Olympiacos and Portugal's Rio Ave among his clubs.
Edu is tipped to initially have a role overseeing recruitment across the group. But The Independent specifically notes he had an ambition to become Arsenal chief executive, which the Marinakis group are "willing to meet", as well as more than trebling his current Arsenal salary.
The 46-year-old retired from his own playing career in his early thirties, but quickly moved into a director of football role with Brazilian side Corinthians. He was later a coordinator for the Brazil national team and joined Arsenal, where he'd spent four seasons as a player, as technical director in 2019. He was promoted to sporting director in 2022.
Forest, now the most high-profile of the Marinakis stable due to recapturing their Premier League status in 2022, have enjoyed a dream start to the season and actually sit one point and two places better off than Arsenal after five wins and four draws from their opening ten league games.
This is Forest's longest run in the top flight since relegation in 1997. The club's last major trophies were successive League Cup triumphs in 1989 and 1990, while they famously won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, all under the guidance of legendary manager Brian Clough.
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