JUAN SARTORI and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will oversee an overhaul of Sunderland executive-management structure if they are installed as the club’s new majority owners as planned in the next few weeks.

The duo have agreed the framework of a deal with Stewart Donald that will see them take control of 80 per cent of the Black Cats, with Donald’s stake reducing to around 15 per cent and former board member Charlie Methven retaining his current five per cent share.

Talks have been ongoing for a number of weeks, and all parties are hopeful a deal can be completed by early December, enabling Sartori, a Uruguayan businessman who has been involved with Sunderland for the last two years, and Louis-Dreyfus, the 22-year-old Swiss manager of a £2bn trust fund, to begin the process of reshaping the Black Cats.

One of their earliest moves is expected to see them change Sunderland’s executive structure by installing a sporting director who will work above current chief executive Jim Rodwell.

The Black Cats have been without a chairman since Donald stood down earlier this year, and have not had a sporting director since Lee Congerton left the role in December 2015. Simon Wilson performed many of Congerton’s roles during his seven-month spell at the Stadium of Light, although he was officially given the role of chief football officer.

According to sources in France, Sartori and Louis-Dreyfus have instructed recruitment company Executives In Sport to begin interviewing for the sporting director role, and a weekend report in L’Equipe claimed they had assembled a four-person shortlist of candidates based in either England or Scandinavia.

Rodwell is expected to retain his role as chief executive, and will continue to be responsible for day-to-day operations, with the new sporting director adopting a more strategic outlook.

Sunderland’s new majority owners will have to decide whether to install a new academy director to replace Paul Reid, who left in the summer, with their decision likely to be dependent on whether they want to continue operating a category one academy.

They will also have to make a judgement on the future of manager Phil Parkinson, with Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to MK Dons having left Sunderland in sixth position after the opening 11 games of the League One season.

Speaking on Friday, Parkinson said: “If a takeover does go through, I’ll look forward to meeting the new owners and telling them my thoughts on what I think we need to go forward.”