Alex Neil is set to be reunited with one of his closest Norwich City aides as Ricky Martin prepares to join the Scot at Stoke City, according to reports.

The Stoke Sentinel are reporting that Martin has resigned from his post as head of academy at West Ham United to take up the role of technical director at the Bet365 Stadium.

If appointed, Martin would once again link up with Neil in a similar role to the one he held at Carrow Road before Stuart Webber sanctioned his departure after implementing a host of changes to the football operations at the club in 2017.

Former City boss Neil was appointed as Stoke boss in August after electing to depart Sunderland to join the fellow Championship side.

His revamp of the club continues, with Martin poised to become a key ally off the pitch, preparing for the January window with Neil set to make more changes to his playing squad.

Martin, who spent over 15 years at Norwich working in an array of roles, has been at West Ham since 2019 leading their youth set-up.

He joined the Canaries in 2001 as assistant academy director for three years and then academy manager for a decade, overseeing the FA Youth Cup triumph under now assistant sporting director Neil Adams in 2013.

Martin was then appointed to City's executive board in 2014, six months before Neil was appointed from Scottish club Hamilton to replace Adams as boss.

The pair worked closely during their time at Carrow Road, forging a bond that continued after their time at Norwich. They now look set to reunite at Stoke.

Neil has had an inconsistent start to life in Staffordshire, winning two and drawing three of his opening seven games in charge of Stoke.

The Scot will bring his side to Carrow Road at the end of this month, having managed Norwich between 2015 and 2017.

Neil will be hoping that a 3-1 victory over current league leaders Sheffield United will act as a springboard for his side to rise up the table. Key behind that win was a change of formation.

“I’ve played a whole host of different formations and shapes," Neil told Stoke on Trent Live. "We changed formation twice throughout the game against Sheffield United and we changed the formation at Burnley to get the goal.

“The problem you’ve got is that those foundations for the players are normally put in during pre-season. I’m trying to do it mid-season while getting them fit, while getting players back and that’s the challenge but the players have responded to it.”