What's next for Cats and Harvey after recruitment announcement

Stuart Harvey may not have been the most visible figure in Sunderland's rebirth, but there is no doubt that he was one of the most significant.

- by Phil Smith

Appointed in the spring of 2021, Harvey would become a key architect as Sunderland underwent a seismic period of change under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman.

Harvey's in-tray was daunting, tasked with rebuilding his own department as well as the team on the pitch.

Sunderland's recruitment department had dwindled to almost nothing during the club's long and painful decline, an operation that was lightyears behind most not just in its use of data and analytics but even in its more traditional scouting methods.

Having won plaudits for his role in Blackburn Rovers's consistent overperformance at Championship level, Harvey's arrival brought instant credibility as Sunderland set out to show the footballing world that they were now doing things differently.

He brought a strong working knowledge of the markets that Sunderland needed to operate in, an immediate and respected point of contact for Premier League clubs, who had seen so many young players enjoy success on loan at Ewood Park.

While Sunderland now lean heavily on data and analytics in their recruitment, it is not at the expense of the hard yards of seeing players in the flesh.

Harvey spent week after week on the road, not just identifying players, but being the all-important first point of contact for the club. It's sometimes lost that those relationships remain vital even after a player has signed, with Harvey an important sounding board.

It was no surprise, for example, that when Amad returned to the Stadium of Light for the playoff semifinal it was Harvey ushering him and his entourage in and out.

Some sources say that Harvey has played an important role at times in convincing players their future remained on Wearside even as other clubs then in higher tiers began to circle.