Arsenal’s predicted backroom shuffle has well and truly begun with the appointment of Darren Burgess, but who is the Gunners’ new head of high performance?
- Burgess is set to be involved in medical, psychology, performance analysis, and even recruitment
- 43-year-old hand-picked by Wenger
- Deal announced by Port Adelaide but not Arsenal – yet
- Arsenal appoint Huss Fahmy to work on contract negotiations
- Port Adelaide will receive excellent compensation from Arsenal for new Performance Director Darren Burgess
‘Fitness guru’ Burgess was allegedly ‘hand-picked’ for Arsenal by Arsene Wenger himself and is apparently highly regarded in the footballing world.
The 43-year-old, who’s signed from Australian team, Port Adelaide, this week, previously spent three years at Liverpool where he worked as the head of fitness and performance under Kenny Dalglish, Roy Hodgson and Brendan Rodgers.
He also helped out the Australian national team during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Burgess’s is expected to be involved in a few key areas, with the Australian apparently set to have a role in the medical side of the game, as well as psychology, and analysing the players’ performances. He could even have a hand in recruitment.
This was a role previously fulfilled by Shad Forsythe, who has been at Arsenal for three years following 10 years of work with the German national team. Therefore, it’s unclear where the American will stand after Burgess’s appointment.
Burgess will apparently begin his role at Arsenal next month. However, he’ll return to Australia in July to help Port Adelaide during the AFL’s regular season. If they reach the play-offs, he’ll move to north London to start full-time with Arsenal after this.
He’s then expected to remain an integral part in Port Adelaide’s China high performance program.