Sunderland have made a key new appointment ahead of the Premier League season
Sunderland have bolstered their backroom staff ahead of the Premier League campaign, appointing a dedicated set-piece coach.
The club have this afternoon confirmed the arrival of James Brayne, who has held the same role at Charlton Athletic for the last 18 months. Brayne has also coached at Birmingham City and Manchester City during his career in the game.
The move likely completes Régis Le Bris’s coaching team for the foreseeable future, after a busy summer of transition following promotion. The club hired former AC Milan and Fiorentina coach Luciano Vulcano as assistant head coach, while former PSG and Barcelona man Isidre Ramón Madir joined as assistant coach who will lead on opposition analysis. Experienced Premier League goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler also arrived, making Alessandro Barcherini’s move to assistant coach permanent. Barcherini now has a particular focus on player’s individual development. Assistant coach Michael Proctor remains in place.
Speaking after the departure of Pedro Ribeiro, Le Bris confirmed that he was happy with his staff in place but identified set pieces as one area that could be improved. Brayne’s arrival now concludes that process.
“We are really comfortable right now," Le Bris said.
"We don't plan to replace Pedro in his position. We'll see if we can improve the staff in other areas but at the minute, there is nothing [in the pipeline]. The only position we could maybe improve is around set pieces. So this is an idea that is in our minds but we have to make sure we find the right person and until now, we haven't done that."
Charlton boss Nathan Jones reacts to James Brayne’s departure for Sunderland
Brayne initially joined Charlton Athletic as an individual development coach, but was promoted by Nathan Jones to a set piece and first team coach role. The club have confirmed this afternoon that he will be replaced by former Charlton and Luton Town striker Danny Hylton.
“James is a very good coach who has progressed during his time at the football club,” Jones said.
“He came in to a development coaching role with no first-team experience and we saw what he could do and took a leap of faith, and he repaid that faith and played his part in our promotion-winning season. He’s a great lad, has been an excellent part of our coaching team and he goes with our best wishes.
"It is important we always have a succession plan in place, not just with players but with staff too. We have a history of educating and promoting from within, as we did with James. We earmarked Danny Hylton a long time ago as someone we wanted in our coaching environment and someone we wanted to give more responsibility to, and he is the natural successor to James. He’s someone we know very well and has the knowledge and ability to thrive in his new role."
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