AS Roma are growing increasingly resigned to the fact they’ll lose sporting director Monchi this summer, with Arsenal the leading contender to snap him up.

Monchi

The Evening Standard write that Monchi is ‘likely’ to leave Roma this summer. The club are ‘increasingly resigned’ to his departure, and Monchi himself is interested in working in England.

The 50-year-old is thought to be at the top of Arsenal’s shortlist for their new technical director job as it stands.

Previous reports suggested Monchi has a £1m release clause in Rome, but the Standard claim it’s closer to £2.6m. Either way, that’s a drop in the ocean for a club like Arsenal if he significantly improves their transfer business in general.

The Daily Mail recently claimed Monchi will have around £45m to spend on transfers this summer if he joins The Gunners, which would be boosted by any sales Arsenal make. Spanish outlet AS reported something similar, claiming Monchi would be given ’50 million’.

The Spaniard isn’t the only candidate for the technical director role though, even if he does appear to be the closest to a move right now.

Click ‘Next’ for more candidates linked with the new position

Marc Overmars

Before AS Roma’s Monchi looked quite as likely to join as he does now, Marc Overmars was the front runner for Arsenal’s new Technical Director job, and the suggestion is that he’s still in the running.

Goal reported earlier this month that Overmars was fast becoming the favourite for the Arsenal job. A spokesperson for Ajax reportedly denied that Arsenal had approached Overmars for the job, but Goal claimed the ex-Arsenal star was still the ‘main candidate’.

Raul Sanllehi is reportedly leading the search, looking for someone with a history in football and also with experience of the technical side of the game. The new Technical Director should be able to discuss tactics and a football vision for the club with Unai Emery.

As recently as last week, Overmars was still considered the most likely to join, even if it was clear that Monchi was the club’s preferred choice. It’s probably best not to make any assumptions for now, particularly as the duo aren’t the only candidates in the running.

Click ‘Next’ for more candidates linked with the technical director job

Edu Gaspar

When it was first suggested Arsenal were likely to appoint a new technical director last month, fellow former Gunner Edu Gaspar was tipped for the job.

The Mirror claimed Arsenal wanted to add another figure to their current structure at the top and that they’d been linked with former midfielder Edu in the role. According to the report, they’d discussed the job with him, but ‘nothing is imminent’.

However, later unconfirmed reports suggested Edu would turn down the job to keep his current position in the Brazil set up. The 40-year-old’s contract doesn’t expire until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and that competition is a big reason for him to want to stay.

We’ll see if the Brazilian really does decide to turn down Arsenal’s offer if and when they make one to him.