West Ham United fear that their technical director Tim Steidten could now be in the running to replace the departed Arsenal sporting director Edu, according to the Telegraph.

The Gunners have had assistant sporting director Jason Ayto step up on an interim basis to replace the Brazilian, but they plan to bring in a permanent successor soon.

Steidten is currently in charge of player recruitment and scouting at West Ham, working closely with sporting director Mark Noble.

The 45-year-old previously worked for Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen in a similar role, and it is surprising that Arsenal have been linked with him.

The Hammers have struggled this term following a poor recruitment in the summer, and the Gunners could do better than Steidten in their bid to get the perfect man for the vacant sporting director role.

West Ham won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022-23, with the German arriving shortly afterwards in July 2023, and they have struggled in Europe and in the Premier League since.

Replacing Edu is a decision Arsenal cannot afford to rush, and manager Mikel Arteta, managing director Richard Garlick and vice-chair Tim Lewis will be meeting with the owners, the Kroenkes, next week to outline squad-building plans for 2025.

They will be planning towards bringing in one or two players capable of helping to improve their fortunes in the second-half of 2024-25 in January, and Ayto should be capable of overseeing that having played a key role in helping Edu during negotiations during the last summer transfer window.

The Portuguese-speaking former video analyst is well-regarded in European football circles and he will be supported by the incoming director of football operations James King going forward.

Arsenal need someone capable of working alongside Arteta and not someone who will be his boss, and going for Ayto permanently could be a great move.