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In a surprising twist, Juventus had been on the verge of bringing Matteo Tognozzi back to Turin, but now he is reported to be in advanced talks with Arsenal instead.

The 38-year-old had been at Juve from 2017 to October 2023 as a chief scout, before he was given a stronger role as director of sport at Granada in Spain.

That experience ended in February 2025 and he was widely expected to come back to the Old Lady, albeit in a position that was yet to be ascertained in a general shake-up of the club hierarchy.

Tognozzi had been ready for Juventus return

However, The Athletic insist that Tognozzi is actually in advanced negotiations to take on a senior recruitment role at Arsenal.

He would be working with new sporting director Andrea Berta, who joined the Gunners after 12 years with Atletico Madrid.

Juventus saw Tognozzi as one of the key figures in the recruitment drive that founded the successful Next Gen Under-23 squad in Serie C.

The Bianconeri sacked director of sport Cristiano Giuntoli this week and gave former defender Giorgio Chiellini more power, as well as bringing in new general manager Damien Comolli.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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