Edu is set to become a senior advisor to Northampton's new owners, but the club have made clear this is not a full-time football executive job. Joao Xavier said the former Nottingham Forest sporting director will help with sporting questions on an ad-hoc basis, while Northampton sit 23rd in League Two.
Xavier's network around the deal
Xavier said the link with Edu began while he was at Nottingham Forest, when he asked him to help him understand English football better. That relationship now sits inside a wider ownership story too. A Brazilian consortium featuring former AC Milan and Chelsea forward Alexandre Pato completed the Northampton takeover last month, and Xavier has tied Edu's role to that broader setup.
The club's connection with Levski Sofia runs through the same network. Xavier said Edu is acting as an advisor for Levski Sofia as well as Northampton, but he also pushed back hard on the idea that the Cobblers are being folded into a multi-club model, saying the club will never be part of multi-club ownership and that no other club is part of the project.
What Edu leaves behind at Forest
Edu arrives after six years at Nottingham Forest, where he became Arsenal's first sporting director in 2022 before moving on. His exit followed a difficult period for Forest, who are 19th in the Premier League with 5 points from 7 matches. Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked last September, the first of four managers at Forest over the 2025-26 campaign.
That backdrop matters because it explains why this move reads more like a network appointment than a standard club hire. Edu is there to be consulted when Northampton need him, not to run the daily rhythm of the football department. The club's new ownership has brought him in for advice, not administration, and his next public role will come when they ask for it.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
