MLS club Philadelphia Union have hired Rene Meulensteen as a temporary consultant in a bid to find the right man to step into the sporting director role.
The Dutchman, formerly the assistant manager at Manchester United and manager at Fulham, has been handed the task of finding the perfect fit who oversee all the soccer operations at PPL Park.
Union majority owner Jay Sugarman confirmed on Friday that Meulensteen will take up a provisional role as they look towards the future.
"Long-term, we want a sporting director for the structure in place - really to help with both our youth development and first-team side to bring us a global perspective, as well as a way to really elevate the entire soccer operations of the Union," said Sugarman.
"We're fortunate that despite other commitments, Rene is available to us right now as a consultant to help analyze, advise and to look at everything we're doing and help us really set a path for the next five years.
"We're going to spend a lot of the time over the next couple of months making some key decisions for the coming years and we wanted a top-tier talent with us when we're making those decisions."
Meulensteen, who has also managed Danish club Brondby and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, admitted he was looking forward to working with the Union in their hunt for the sporting director as well as casting his eye on some potential signings for the club.
"My main assistance is where to look for new targets, players maybe we want to bring in for me to evaluate him and to say, 'That's a good player, go for him' or 'I wouldn't do that'" Meulensteen said. "But we learn as we go along. I knew that right from the start.
"But let me say that MLS is a growing, emerging market. For me, it's a great opportunity to learn so much more and help the Union make the next steps."
