Nottingham Forest have officially welcomed Edu Gaspar into the role of Global Head of Football, with his first task being to find the perfect replacement for Anthony Elanga.
Edu was announced by Forest after months of speculation linking him with a role within Evangelos Marinakis’ football sphere, but his official title suggests that he’ll be solely focused on matters at the City Ground.
Immediately, there is no more important matter than replacing Elanga, with Edu about to receive a £55m bounty to seek a perfect alternative for Nuno Espírito Santo.
So far, Forest have a four-player shortlist to replace Elanga, with Edu’s task of picking the right option aided by his incredibly detailed recruitment process.
Edu looks on from the stands during Brighton vs Arsenal
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Edu Gaspar brings an elite recruitment strategy to Nottingham Forest
Former Forest man Felipe wished Edu good luck after he announced his new position on Instagram, but no luck will go into his work at the City Ground, given how meticulous he is with recruitment.
Speaking to Brazilian outlet Estadao back in 2024, Edu explained the work he was doing for Arsenal at the time that will now be to the benefit of Forest.
He said: “You can’t just sign for the sake of signing. It has to be a process that takes weeks and weeks. Right there on my desk, I have reports with over 180 pages on a player. It’s really detailed.
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“Physical, technical, and mental profiles, whether they have Premier League experience, whether they’ll be able to adapt. It’s all there. We analyse our weaknesses, where we can improve, where we can invest, and then we go looking for that new name.”
The intense detail that Edu goes into may make some deals feel like they’re moving at a frustrating pace from initial interest to confirmation, but it is all worth it if the eventual product of his work succeeds.
There are already signs of Edu’s influence in who is being linked to replace Elanga, as well as longer-term targets for other positions that the Brazilian will know plenty about.
Edu’s influence is already clear in Nottingham Forest’s targets
Emerging as a frontrunner to replace Elanga is Johan Bakayoko, with the Belgian’s contract at PSV entering its final year. Forest are set to open talks with Bakayoko in what could well be a fast-moving story, given that Edu already knows everything about his talents.
This is because Edu tried to sign Bakayoko for Arsenal in 2024, showing that the detailed research into his ability has already been done and deemed impressive enough to make a move.
Away from the Elanga situation, though, the recruitment guru also has his fingerprints on another of Forest’s longer-term targets, as Edu wanted to bring Douglas Luiz to Arsenal.
Nottingham Forest News was able to reveal that Luiz isn’t high on Forest’s priorities currently, but Edu’s presence could mean that if this stance changes, Forest would act fast to secure the midfielder.