Sunderland are seeking a new chief scout.
The Journal says the Black Cats are primed to appoint a new chief scout in the summer after Ricky Sbragia parted company with the club "by mutual consent".
The former Sunderland boss was moved to oversee the scouting operation two years ago after keeping the club in the Premier League back in 2009.
Sbragia narrowly missed out on the Birmingham assistant manager's role and was interviewed for the Motherwell vacancy earlier in the season.
The club are working on a settlement and manager Steve Bruce is already understood to have earmarked several candidates for the role, which is a key position given the importance of Sunderland's summer recruitment drive.
