Roberto De Fanti appointed Sunderland director of football

Sunderland have appointed Italian duo Roberto De Fanti and Valentino Angeloni as their new director of football and chief scout respectively.

The pair have worked together previously on player recruitment at both Udinese and Inter Milan.

And De Fanti assisted during Paolo Di Canio's appointment as head coach.

Maritimo defender Valentin Roberge, Basel midfielder Cabral and Lazio defender Modibo Diakite are also set to join the club next month.

Frenchman Roberge and Senegalese Diakite, both 26, and 24-year-old former Switzerland Under-21 international Cabral, whose full name is Adilson Tavares Varela, are set to strengthen Di Canio's first-team squad.

De Fanti, meanwhile, takes on a newly created role at the Stadium of Light.

During his time at Udinese, Angeloni discovered players such as Alexis Sanchez, signed as a 17-year-old then sold to Barcelona for an initial fee of £23m.

Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne said: "Roberto and Valentino bring with them a wealth of experience, knowledge and football contacts from across Europe and indeed the world and we are delighted to welcome them to Sunderland.

"The recruitment of players is, of course, key for any football club and Roberto and Valentino will work closely with the head coach and the board to identify targets as we look to strengthen our squad for next season and beyond."