Sunderland have turned to Manchester City's former director of football services as they attempt to bring an end to their on-field struggles.
Simon Wilson, who spent 10 years at City after a four-year stint at Southampton, will work alongside manager David Moyes and chief executive Martin Bain as the club's new chief football officer, with the Black Cats looking to improve performance across the board.
Bain said: "In Simon, we are bringing someone to the club who has highly impressive track record of putting the building blocks in place in order to give clubs the best chance of achieving success.