A highly-rated youth coach who quit Carlisle United for Premier League club Sunderland two years ago has returned to Brunton Park.

Chris Blake has rejoined the Blues' academy set-up after deciding to leave the top-flight outfit.

Blake previously worked under former youth bosses Eric Kinder and Alan Moore at United before moving to the Stadium of Light as an academy and then first-team match analyst.

He has now been drafted back into the club by new academy manager Darren Edmondson.

Blake will work alongside Edmondson and long-serving coach David Wilkes to help develop teenage talent at United.

Edmondson said he was delighted to have the 29-year-old on board.

He said: "Chris is a progressive young man.

"He wants to improve and wants to learn, and we think he will be an excellent addition.

"When we were looking at someone to work alongside myself and David, Chris ticked a lot of the boxes.

"In his previous time at the club he implemented a lot of important things policy-wise, which gave him great experience.

"Add that to his analysing strength from his time at Sunderland and the knowledge he gained from working with Eric Kinder here and, as an overall package, he was someone we were keen to get in as quickly as we could."

Blake had played a key role in United’s preparations for the new Elite Player Performance Plan as they achieved Category Three status two years ago.

He is currently studying for his UEFA A Licence coaching badge.

Edmondson's Under-18 side start their league campaign with a trip to Preston this Saturday.