Arsenal are poised to strengthen their backroom staff with the appointment of Napoli’s head of scouting, Maurizio Micheli.
Micheli has been a key part of Napoli’s progress in two different spells. He was initially their chief scout between 2010 and 2015.
The 57-year-old was reappointed as the head of scouting in 2018 and has played a big role in Napoli’s last two Serie A titles.
Micheli has been credited for discovering Marek Hamsik, Kalidou Koulibaly, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min-jae among others.
Tuttomercatoweb (TMW) now claim that his upcoming departure has come as a ‘bolt from the blue’ for the reigning Serie A holders.
Micheli was unimpressed by club owner Aurelio de Laurentiis gaining more control over transfer decisions after the title back in 2023.
He has now decided to take up a senior recruitment role at Arsenal and will coordinate affairs alongside sporting director Andrea Berta.
TMW feel Napoli are set for a ‘very difficult’ farewell, and the impact cannot be underestimated.
Micheli deal is another big step for Arsenal
The Gunners have had an impressive campaign in the Premier League, and they are four points clear at the top after 11 matches played.
The recruitment has been almost spot on under Berta. The Italian transfer guru made some shrewd decisions which have been justified.
For example, Cristhian Mosquera was on his sights during his time at Atletico Madrid. He played a big part in bringing him to the Gunners last summer.
Sevilla midfielder Lucien Agoume was a target, but Berta preferred to recruit an ‘oven-ready and experienced’ solution in Christian Norgaard.
Berta did brilliantly to hijack Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Eberechi Eze, while striking a surprise loan deal for Bayer Leverkusen star Piero Hincapie.
The arrival of Micheli should be another big boost. The 57-year-old has a good track record of signing players who have become household names at Napoli.
Arsenal will obviously continue to spend big on marquee players. The onus could also be on finding huge bargain deals such as Mosquera’s from Valencia.
Micheli will be tasked to do precisely that in future transfer windows.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com