Arsenal have reached an agreement with former Atletico Madrid transfer guru Andrea Berta to fill the role of sporting director at the Emirates Stadium.

Berta, 53, has been in talks over replacing Edu Gaspar following his departure in November, and a deal is now in place for him to head up recruitment for Mikel Arteta’s squad as they look to sustain a Premier League title challenge.

The Telegraph reported last week that the process of finding Edu’s replacement had reached its final stages, with several candidates considered in the past months.

Interim sporting director Jason Ayto was understood to be a strong candidate after rising through the ranks at Arsenal and moving up the chain when Edu’s departure was announced.

Former Manchester United director Dan Ashworth was also linked with the role after his shock departure at Old Trafford. But Berta is now in place to take his first job in English football.

The Italian had previous roles at Parma and Genoa but it was his time at Atletico that saw him earmarked as a master of the transfer market.

Working with head coach Diego Simeone, Atletico won La Liga twice and the Europa League after Berta’s recruitment.

He also made huge profits on signings such as Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who was bought for £20 million from Villarreal and sold to Manchester City for £60 million a year later.

During his time at the club, Atletico also sold Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona for £107 million and then re-signed the France forward for around £17 million.

Matheus Cunha, Joao Felix, Kieran Trippier, Luis Suarez, Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher were among the other signings on his watch.

Edu, a former Invincible with Arsenal as a player, had been appointed as technical director in 2019 and was promoted to sporting director in 2022 which meant overseeing men’s, women’s and academy football. “This was an incredibly hard decision to make,” he admitted when he left.