Manchester City have agreed a deal to make Sporting Lisbon’s Hugo Viana their new sporting director, talkSPORT understands.
Former Newcastle midfielder Viana will take over from Txiki Begiristain when he stands down at the end of the season.
Viana’s arrival is likely to put Sporting boss Ruben Amorim in the box seat to succeed Pep Guardiola if he leaves when his contract expires in the summer.
Amorim has impressed at Sporting having won the Portuguese title twice in the last four years.
And his side currently sit top of the table having won all eight league games so far this season.
City chiefs will get a first-hand look at Amorim next month when the Premier League champions face Sporting in a Champions League clash in Lisbon.
Viana knows all about English football having spent four years at Newcastle between 2002 and 2006.
The midfielder turned down concrete interest from Liverpool to sign for the Magpies with Sir Bobby Robson’s knowledge of Portuguese football proving to be key in negotiations.
After signing Viana said: “Liverpool are obviously a huge club, and I was very confused and unsure about what I wanted to do, but then I spoke to Bobby Robson and after five or ten minutes, I was clear about Newcastle.”
The Portuguese arrived on Tyneside, aged 19, for a fee of £8.5million and became the club’s most expensive teenage signing, eclipsing the £5m spent on Jermaine Jenas in 2002.
Upon his arrival at St James’ Park, Viana was taken under the wing of the late Gary Speed as he settled into life in the north east.
However, competition for places in the Magpies’ midfield was fierce with Speed, Jenas, Kieron Dyer, Laurent Robert all in inspired form.
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Consecutive season-long loan deals at Sporting and La Liga side Valencia followed before making a switch to the Mestalla permanent in 2006 having scored just four goals in 61 appearances for Newcastle.
After a stint in the United Arab Emirates, Viana called time on his career in 2016 before being offered the director of football role at Portuguese club Belenenses.
He took up the same position at Sporting a year later and helped lay the foundations for a golden era of domestic success at the club.
Viana’s success has not gone unnoticed particularly in the transfer market with the acquisition of English winger Marcus Edwards while also unearthing Barcelona winger Raphinha during his formative years at Vitoria Guimaraes.
Other high profile names courted by Viana include Tottenham full-back Pedro Porro, Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte and former Coventry striker Viktor Gyokeres who netted 25 times for Sporting last term.
