Arsenal add former Man Utd chief to five-man shortlist for new sporting director | OneFootball

Arsenal have five names on their shortlist for the club's new sporting director and are expected to name a permanent successor in March, according to a report.

The Gunners were stunned by Edu Gaspar's resignation in November. The club's former midfielder returned to north London in the summer of 2019 and assumed widespread control over the incomings and outgoings over the past two years before joining the multi-club ownership group with Nottingham Forest at its epicentre.

Edu's former assistant, Jason Ayto, has taken over the recruitment mantle in the Brazilian's absence. The interim sporting director is listed as one of the candidates that has been discussed internally to take over the position permanently, according to The Athletic.

Former Newcastle and - very briefly - Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth is also named alongside Real Sociedad's outgoing Roberto Olabe and Monaco's general manager Thiago Scuro. The final candidate, Andrea Berta, is an unattached option after leaving Atletico Madrid in January following more than a decade in the Spanish capital.

Dan Ashworth (right) did not last long at Man Utd / Eddie Keogh/GettyImages

Intriguingly, the highly rated Paris Saint-Germain advisor Luis Campos is described as "not in the frame", despite Sky Sports naming him as a viable candidate.

Ayto, the current theoretically temporary incumbent, did not impress during a January transfer window which served as a dress rehearsal for the full-time position. Arsenal were one of six teams which didn't spend a penny this winter, although they had multiple bids for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins rejected.

This high-profile miss was put into sharp focus by season-ending injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. With Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli sidelined until April at the earliest, Mikel Arteta has been forced to awkwardly shoehorn Mikel Merino into a centre-forward position.

The first task bulging out of the in-tray of whoever the club appoints next month will surely be to sign a new striker.