According to The Athletic, Strasbourg technical director Pascal De Maesschalck is “a strong candidate” to become Arsenal’s new head of academy.
The Gunners, led by sporting director Andrea Berta, have been searching for a successor to Per Mertesacker since the German announced in January that he would step down this summer after eight years in the role.
De Maesschalck, 52, spent 14 years at Club Brugge between 2007 and 2021, initially as director of youth development before becoming academy manager. The Belgian then took up the same position at Monaco, where he remained for three years before joining Strasbourg as technical director following the club’s acquisition by BlueCo, the multi-club group that also owns Chelsea.
While Mertesacker provided stability at Hale End during his tenure, there has been significant turnover elsewhere within the academy setup.
Arsenal are currently searching for their sixth under-21s head coach since 2018 after Max Porter left to take up a coaching role at Stoke City.
Despite the club’s deserved reputation for producing top-class talent, there have been concerns over the academy’s on-pitch results in recent years.
Whoever succeeds Mertesacker will not only be tasked with helping prepare the next generation for Mikel Arteta’s first team but also with improving performances across the age groups and strengthening Arsenal’s record of developing players capable of generating significant transfer income.