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Having been linked with the role since the departure of Roberto De Fanti, it now appears that Hamburg's Lee Congerton will soon be installed at Sunderland's new Director of Football.
The Welshman's name has been in the frame since day one and now having had the blessing of Gustavo Poyet, it would appear he will be on his way here once terms have been agreed with Bundesliga side.
Congerton rose through the ranks at Chelsea, impressing then Technical Director Frank Arnesen who promoted him to Chief Scout from working with the Under-19 side. Congerton is credited with bringing the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Gael Kakuta, Scott Sinclair and Fabio Borini to the Londoners.
Congerton followed Arnesen to Hamburg and was made the Technical Director of the Bundesliga side.
Speaking about the role in 2012 the Welshman explained further about how the role works. With it being something new to us on Wearside, it does provide good insight;
I think it is frowned upon a lot in England because the managers don't really understand what the role is. In England it's perceived that the sporting or technical director is signing players that he wants to play in the team.
But we don't bring a player here that the coach doesn't want - ultimately he has to play them in the team. What we do is try to minimise the risk, so that we know the player and gather detailed information on them because the coach also has to understand that the sporting director has a responsibility to the organisation.
Congerton is expected to be installed during this month.
