Former Atletico Madrid and Valencia director Jesus Garcia Pitarch has been tipped to arrive at Aston Villa as the Championship club’s sporting director.
It is not just a new manager that Aston Villa have been looking for. The Championship strugglers have been scouring the market for a sporting director, too.
Owners Naseef Sawiris and Wes Edens are keen to change the structure at Villa Park, sacking six members of their scouting and recruitment department recently, with an overarching sporting director expected to arrive in their place.
A number of names have been linked in recent weeks. But, according to the Express and Star, the position might have already been filled.
The Express and Star reports on Wednesday morning that Jesus Garcia Pitarch has started working with the Midland club. The 54-year-old is understood to be helping the club found a manager to replace Steve Bruce.
Pitarch is a hugely experienced sporting director who developed a reputation in Spain for his impressive recruitment skills. He brought the likes of Diego Forlan and Jose Antonio Reyes to Atletico Madrid and recently spent time at Valencia as the club’s director of football.
It was with Los Che that Pitarch established a close relationship with Jorge Mendes, the super-agent understood to be playing a key role in recruitment at Villa right now.
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