Ex-Arsenal chief set for new role with Premier League rivals after shock exit

Former Arsenal assistant sporting director Jason Ayto is set to become Brighton’s technical director following the surprise departure of David Weir.

Brighton announced on Friday that Weir had left the club shortly after the conclusion of the summer transfer window. The former Rangers, Everton and Scotland defender had been the Seagulls’ technical director since May 2022, when he succeeded Dan Ashworth after he left for Newcastle.

The 55-year-old was in charge of player recruitment for Brighton and departs after overseeing a summer transfer spend of around £72million. Charalampos Kostoulas, Maxim De Cuyper, Tom Watson, Diego Coppola, Do-young Yun, Nils Ramming and Olivier Boscagli were signed for Fabian Hurzeler’s squad.

Weir is set to be replaced by Ayto, who has been without a job since leaving Arsenal in May following the arrival of Andrea Berta as sporting director. The Daily Mail says Ayto had been in contention to become Newcastle’s new sporting director, but will instead be confirmed at Brighton in the coming days.

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Ayto spent nearly 10 years at Arsenal and worked under former sporting director Edu before the Brazilian left for Nottingham Forest. He was briefly interim sporting director with the Gunners and was considered for the full-time role before ex-Atletico Madrid man Berta took over.

The departure of Weir from Brighton has come as a surprise, but owner-chairman Tony Bloom said in a statement: “David has served our club very well, but we now wish to refresh our technical area with new leadership and direction. I’d like to thank David for everything he has done for us, and to wish him well for the future.”

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber added: “I have greatly enjoyed working with David over the past eight years, and have appreciated his support and hard work throughout this period. I wish David all the best going forward.”

Ayto was reportedly influential in the signing of Martin Zubimendi at Arsenal. The Spanish midfielder arrived this summer for £51million, having snubbed Liverpool the previous year to stay with Real Sociedad.

His former boss Edu decided to quit Arsenal for Forest, where he has become their global head of football. It has been a tumultuous start at the Premier League side, who sacked Nuno Espirito Santo three matches into the season to bring in Ange Postecoglou as the new manager.

One of the main reasons behind Nuno’s departure was friction between the manager and Edu, whose arrival had shaken things up behind the scenes. In another sign of the football executive merry go round, Forest chief football officer Ross Wilson is expected to leave to become Newcastle’s new sporting director.

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