Nottingham Forest have confirmed the appointment of Luke Dowling as their new sporting director.

Having arrived at Vicarage Road in 2014, Dowling left his position as sporting director at Watford by mutual consent in August last year, citing a desire to find a new project as the reason.

His spell with Watford saw the club earn promotion back to England’s top flight after finishing second in the Championship in 2015.

They went on to reach the FA Cup semi-final the following season and Dowling said the two achievements ranked as the best he witnessed while at Vicarage Road.

Forest have been without a sporting director since Frank McParland’s departure in December.