Edu Joins Northampton Town as Senior Advisor Under Brazilian Ownership
Edu links up with Northampton Town as senior advisor under new Brazilian ownership, adding another intriguing strand to a fast-evolving project at Sixfields.
The former Arsenal midfielder and ex-Gunners director of football has agreed to advise the League Two club’s new hierarchy on what co-chairman Joao Xavier called “sporting questions” – stepping in when needed, rather than working in a hands-on, daily role.
Edu left his position as Nottingham Forest’s global head of football in September and has since taken a seat on the board at Bulgarian top-flight side Levski Sofia. His growing portfolio now stretches from Sofia to Northampton, connected by a web of investors and Brazilian influence that is beginning to reshape the Cobblers’ future.
Brazilian axis behind struggling Cobblers
Northampton, currently 23rd in League Two, were taken over last month by a Brazilian consortium fronted by former AC Milan and Chelsea forward Alexandre Pato. The move dragged one of England’s lower-league clubs into a wider, more ambitious football network, with Pato becoming the most eye-catching face of the new regime.
Speaking at an open forum with supporters, Xavier underlined Edu’s role within that structure. The two first crossed paths during Edu’s time at Forest, a relationship that Xavier said quickly grew beyond simple introductions.
“We became friends as he had a role at Nottingham Forest and I asked him to help me learn more about English football,” Xavier explained, outlining how the partnership began before formal titles were ever discussed.
That personal connection has now crystallised into a defined advisory position, with Edu expected to lend his experience from Arsenal and Forest to a club fighting for its League Two status.
Shared investors, separate clubs
The link between Northampton and Levski Sofia runs through the boardroom, not the dressing room.
Levski are owned by London-based investment firm Gemcorp Capital. Gemcorp is an investor in Sports Alpha Capital, the group that has taken a majority shareholding in Northampton. Edu, already advising Levski, will now also offer strategic input at Sixfields through that same network of partners.
Xavier was keen to stress where the lines are drawn. The Cobblers, he insisted, will not be dragged into the kind of multi-club ownership model that has become increasingly common across Europe.
“Edu is a senior advisor for one of our partners, acting as an advisor for Levski Sofia and also here, helping us navigate the sporting questions here at the club, not day to day, just when we ask him and when we need him,” Xavier said.
Then came the key clarification, aimed squarely at wary supporters: “The club will never be part of a multi-club ownership, no other club is part of our project.”
So Northampton find themselves in a curious, modern position. A League Two side battling at the wrong end of the table, backed by a Brazilian consortium, fronted by Pato, and now quietly guided – at arm’s length – by Edu.
The survival fight is immediate. The structure above it is evolving. How quickly those two worlds can align will define what this new era at Sixfields really becomes.
