Harvey left Sunderland AFC earlier this year as part of a restructure behind the scenes

Sunderland's former head of recruitment has returned to football at Championship club Stoke City.

Stuart Harvey joined the Black Cats as head of recruitment in the months that followed Kyril Louis-Dreyfus's takeover, and the Northern Irishman went on to become a vital part of the team that oversaw the club's rise from League One to the Premier League. Harvey left his role earlier this season as director of football Florent Ghisolfi overhauled the club's recruitment operation, but is now back in football at the bet365 Stadium.

Harvey joins Stoke City with a much broader role than he held at Sunderland. As technical director, Stoke City said in a statement that Harvey would 'support the broad spectrum of the Club’s football operations including first team coaching and recruitment, research and analytics, football administration, medical and performance, women’s first team, and boys’ and girls’ academies'.

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Harvey will report into the club's Sporting Director Jonathan Walters.

“Stuart is a highly respected operator in the game, who most recently played a much-valued role in Sunderland’s journey to the Premier League,” Walters said.

“His knowledge and experience have been built across a number of clubs and environments throughout his career. Stuart has developed a strong reputation in the game and understands the standards and detail needed to help drive success.

“This appointment is another important step as we continue to strengthen the football club in all areas, and Stuart’s arrival shows the ambition and commitment to keep moving the Club forward and give us the best possible platform to be successful on the pitch.”

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