Nottingham Forest are close to agreeing a deal to sign Igor Jesus, who was previously pursued by Edu Gaspar when he was Arsenal’s sporting director.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - APRIL 16: Igor Jesus of Botafogo celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the match between Botafogo and Sao Paulo as part of Brasileirao 2025 at Estadio Olímpico Nilton Santos on April 16, 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images
David Ornstein reports for The Athletic that Nottingham Forest are close to agreeing a triple deal with Botafogo for the signings of Igor Jesus, Cuiabano, and Jair Cunha. Though it’s not done yet, Forest are hoping to add all three players to their squad.
The pursuit of Igor Jesus is particularly interesting, because Arsenal were previously linked with the Brazilian forward.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - APRIL 05: Igor Jesus of Botafogo celebrates after scoring his team's third goal that was later disallowed by VAR during the match between Botafogo and Juventude as part of Brasileirao 2025 at Estadio Olímpico Nilton Santos on April 05, 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Back in January, reports suggested Arsenal had already set the stage for a move for Jesus when Edu Gaspar was in charge as the club’s sporting director.
Edu left Arsenal in November, and he’s widely expected to officially start work within Evangelos Marinakis’ multi-club model this summer, a model that includes Nottingham Forest.
But despite the lack of an official announcement, Sami Mokbel reported for the BBC in April that Edu has already been working for Marinakis on an informal basis since leaving Arsenal.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - APRIL 05: Igor Jesus of Botafogo celebrates after scoring his team's third goal that was later disallowed by VAR during the match between Botafogo and Juventude as part of Brasileirao 2025 at Estadio Olímpico Nilton Santos on April 05, 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Given Edu was the one who laid the groundwork for Arsenal’s move for Jesus, given he’s since been working for Nottingham Forest owner Marinakis, and given Nottingham Forest are now moving for Jesus, it’s fair to suggest he had some influence on their pursuit.
Arsenal are focusing on other targets, so they likely won’t mind too much about their old sporting director taking the deal to his new club.
Related Posts