Sunderland have confirmed that Manchester City's director of football services Simon Wilson will join the club's behind the scenes staff on January 1 2017.
New role has been created with a long-term vision in mind
Wilson will undertake the role of chief football officer once he arrives in the North-East. The role has been created specifically for the former Southampton and Manchester City employee, and he will be working closely with CEO Martin Bain and manager David Moyes with regards to the footballing side of the club.
Wilson spent the last 10 years of his career at Manchester City as their director of football services, and prior to taking up the job in the blue side of Manchester he spent four years working on the South Coast for Southampton.
Speaking to the club's official website after confirming the deal, Bain said that Wilson is man that has a "highly impressive track record of putting the building blocks in place in order to give clubs the best chance of achieving success."
Bain went on to add that "harnessing his knowledge and experience" with regards to the footballing areas of the club "will give us a great platform from which to re-define our approach" to various areas of the club, such as "scouting, recruitment, medical services, player pathways and youth development".
Wilson to link up with Moyes for the second time
"Simon will play an important part in driving our re-building process", said Bain, who himself only joined the club during the summer after his predecessor Margaret Byrne left her role in the wake of the Adam Johnson scandal, adding that Wilson will help the club achieve their aim of "making the football club stronger in the future."
Wilson himself also spoke to the club's official website after the deal was confirmed, stating that he feels "excited by the opportunity" and that his role will mainly assist his fellow employees "in order to give the club the best platform to achieve its goals."
The new man on Wearside also went on to praise the "highly experienced and respected" Moyes, whom he worked with at Preston North End in the beginnings of the Scotsman's managerial career.
Wilson added that Moyes and Bain "share a common vision on how to take the club forward", and that he hopes that together the three of them can give the people of Sunderland "a club and team to be proud of."