Sunderland are set to bring Birmingham City's Stuart English to Wearside as they continue to restructure their backroom staff.
He's expected to follow in the footsteps of former Blues academy manager Kristjaan Speakman, who was appointed Sporting Director at the Stadium of Light last month.
English is the academy’s No 2 and will leave after five years in the role, reports Birmingham Live.
The former Brentford head of coaching holds a UEFA A licence and gained experience at Wycombe and Luton - while completing his Sport Management and Football Studies degree, before taking up a full-time position at Kenilworth Road.
English is also in possession of his Academy Managers licence and could potentially take up a similar role at the Black Cats.
Speakman's arrival on Wearside signalled the start of a new era on, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus waiting in the wings to complete a long-awaited takeover.
It had been expected that the deal would be complete this month but there has been no news from the Black Cats.
Earlier this month, Johnson revealed that he was confident the deal would go through as expected.
