Arsenal boost as Fabrizio Romano rules Chelsea out of race to snap up highly regarded Edu replacement

Arsenal have been handed a boost in any potential pursuit of PSG Football Advisor Luis Campos as a long-term replacement for Edu at the Emirates Stadium.

Campos' three-year contract in Paris is set to expire at the end of this season but the Gunners are not the only club linked with interest in the 60-year-old. Chelsea were also said to be looking at recruiting the former manager to help the club's transfer strategy.

However, in a fresh update from Fabrizio Romano, it appears that Arsenal do not have to fear any competition from their London Rivals. Writing on social media platform X on Thursday, Romano said: "Chelsea are not planning to change their management structure, happy with current directors and planning with them. No negotiations taking place with other directors. “I want to extend Luis Campos’ contract”, Al Khelaifi said about Campos’ future despite Chelsea links."

Arsenal and Chelsea linked with PSG advisor

Sky Sports had carried reports of Arsenal interest in Campos as early as last November, following the sudden departure of Edu from the club. Campos has been tasked with overseeing a change of police at the Parc des Princes, moving from signing the world's biggest stars to young talent such as Vitinha, Bradley Barcola and Joao Neves.

The former Monaco and Lille sporting director has worked on the early stages of transfers for players that have gone on to be sold for big money during his career. Those include Kylian Mbappe, Victor Osimhen, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho and Anthony Martial.

Writing in November, Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas reported: "The interest in Campos comes after Arsenal held future-planning talks in Los Angeles this week following the shock resignation of Edu.

"Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has used the international break to meet with owners Stan and Josh Kroenke, as well as directors Tim Lewis and Richard Garlick, and assistant sporting director Jason Ayto, in the Californian city.

"The meeting had been primarily about planning for next summer and the January window, and was scheduled before Edu's departure. But added high to the agenda is understood to have been potential successors to the Brazilian, following his decision to join Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' group of clubs."

Chelsea hold meetings with Arsenal target Campos

Football Transfers claimed that Chelsea had held two meetings with Campos to discuss becoming Head of Football across its multi-club portfolio. That came before the Romano post but that role could be different to a post exclusively at Chelsea, which the transfer guru claims has been ruled out.

That report adds that PSG are working on a new deal for Campos but that no satisfactory terms have been agreed with the end of the season getting ever closer.

The Times journalist Duncan Castles told The Transfers Podcast: "Campos is interested in this model of having a head of football or a chief executive of football in multi-club ownership groups such as FSG and Red Bull.

"Paris Saint-Germain want him to stay. They've been in negotiations over a new contract for several months now. What I'm told is that those negotiations have not progressed in the fashion that Luis Campos would like.

"He's been disappointed that having done all of this work, having fulfilled his side of the bargain in terms of what was expected of him coming into PSG, there hasn't been a commitment to him on the terms that he wants to carry on at the club.

"He's opening the door to moving elsewhere at the end of this season because Paris Saint-Germain have failed to conclude terms with him, and we're less than four months away from the end of that contract."

In other news, Arsenal are hoping for a double injury boost ahead of facing Fulham at the start of April.