ARSENAL look set to announce Strasbourg technical director Pascal De Maesschalck as their new academy director.

De Maesschalck has previously worked at Monaco and Club Brugge before joining Strasbourg in 2024. He will replace Per Mertesacker, who left the club last season after eight years in the role.

The Belgian has pretty big shoes to fill, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Max Dowman and Marli Salmon all emerging through the Gunners academy to feature for the first-team during Mertesacker’s tenure.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are preparing to ignite another summer of spending, with reports linking them with a move for Paris St-Germain’s Bradley Barcola.

The Gunners’ top target is still believed to be Aston Villa and England star Morgan Rogers, but with Villa said to value the 23-year-old at £130m, the Premier League champions could be ready to explore alternatives.