Arsenal are looking to make some big moves both in the transfer market and on the recruitment front.
Andrea Berta joined Arsenal as their new sporting director earlier this year, replacing the departing Edu in March 2025, and he has been busy working on prospective signings.
Indeed, the likes of Barcelona have been left stunned by how much work Arsenal have been putting in the early stages of the transfer window.
Now, it has been reported that Arsenal are working to make another backroom addition in the shape of the scout who discovered Dean Huijsen.
Photo by Fermin Rodriguez/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Fermin Rodriguez/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Arsenal in advanced talks to land Matteo Tognozzi
Fabrizio Romano has taken to X to report that Arsenal are in advanced talks with Matteo Tognozzi, the former Juventus head of scouting and Granada director.
The transfer insider said Tognozzi would be part of the team working under Berta at Arsenal.
🚨🔴⚪️ Former Juventus Head of Scouting and Granada director Matteo Tognozzi, currently in advanced talks to sign at Arsenal.
He’d be part of the team working under Andrea Berta. pic.twitter.com/14k3rSuqLv
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 5, 2025
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READ MORE: Andrea Berta holds meeting with club director to discuss striker Arsenal want to sign, he ‘has everything’
Dean Huijsen, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland all spotted by Matteo Tognozzi
Tognozzi has made a real name for himself as a top-tier scout with an eye for spotting talent in football.
The 38-year-old is credited with the signings of a number of superb young talents during his time at Juve.
‘He is accredited with the signings of some of the best wonderkids who joined the club during that time span,’ Juvefc.com wrote earlier this month.
‘Including Matias Soule, Dean Huijsen, and most importantly, Kenan Yildiz who is now considered one of the cornerstones of the current Juventus project.’
Tognozzi was interviewed by Tuttosport in November 2023 as he revealed the lengths he goes to in order to identify top talent.
He said, via Football Italia: “To scout Huijsen I found myself under a snowstorm in Granada, where I work today, for an Under-16 league match against Malaga.”
Tognozzi also revealed how close he came to signing Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland for Juventus.
Of Bellingham, he said: “It’s the big regret. In 2019 we were close, I had met him and his family, but the boy decided to continue his growth path at Birmingham.”
Tognozzi also said: “We were really one step away from Erling Haaland.
“November 2017, I arrived four months prior, the Norwegian was one of the first contacts I made at Juventus.
“I had him in hand, the idea was to sign him for the Primavera, but the deal was considered too expensive for the youth team.
“At that time, he was still on the bench at Molde, but within a few weeks he started playing and scoring, so everyone went after him.”