TIAGO Pinto, who recently left his position as general manager at Roma, is reportedly closing in on taking a new role at Cherries.

Pinto, 39, worked at Benfica between 2012 and 2020, the final three of those years as director of professional football, before joining Roma, where he remained for little over three years.

During the Portuguese’s time in the Italian capital, Roma won the Europa Conference League and reached the Europa League final.

In Pinto’s spell working with sporting director Rui Costa at Benfica, the Eagles won the league title and featured regularly in the Champions League, recruiting players from South America and La Liga.

Pinto worked closely with Jose Mourinho at Roma, before the Portuguese was fired in January of this year.

One month later, Pinto also exited.

A report by Italian outlet TMW claim contact between Cherries and Pinto is “at an advanced stage” to become “the new market man” for the Dorset club.

During his time at Roma, Pinto has had transfer dealings with Cherries, involving the likes of Justin Kluivert and Matias Vina.

Exactly how he would fit into Cherries’ new structure is still to be determined, with Simon Francis replacing Richard Hughes as technical director. Matt Harrold is set to arrive as loans manager, with Carl Fletcher moving from that position into a scouting role.

Hailing from Peso da Regua in northern Portugal, Pinto graduated from the University of Porto with a Bachelor’s degree in pedagogy, and a Masters in economics and human resources.

Before moving roles in 2017, Pinto led the multi-sports division at Benfica, encompassing basketball, futsal, volleyball, handball and roller hockey.

Upon hiring Pinto, Roma chairman Dan Friedkin said: “Tiago is a world-class talent.

“In our many conversations, it was clear that his passion for his job, forward-thinking mindset, and, above all, winning mentality were consistent with the new ethos at Roma.

"We are convinced that his remarkable energy, uncompromising ethics, and track record of identifying, developing and optimising talent will help in our ambitions as we begin to prepare Roma to compete for trophies at the highest levels of Italian and European football."

Chief executive Guido Fienga added: “Tiago Pinto is an outstanding choice to develop our footballing talent at Roma.

“Tiago is well-regarded for his holistic approach to developing a dynamic sporting department, and also for his track record of building an active pathway for players to graduate from the academy to the first team.”

Announcing his departure from Roma earlier this year, Pinto said: “After three years, I believe that my cycle in Rome has come to an end, and, as my departure approaches, I would like to thank all those who made my stay at the club and in this city so special.”