Cabral, a defensive midfielder who can also play at centre-back, has agreed to join Sunderland from Basel on a four-year contract, his agent has told the Swiss newspaper Blick. The 24-year-old, who was born in Cape Verde but represented Switzerland up to Under-21 level, is out of contract in June.

Reports of the signing emerged as Paolo Di Canio's overhaul of Sunderland gathered pace with Craig Liddle, a key youth coach, losing his job after only a year at the club.

Liddle's exit is part of Sunderland's plan to rebuild their academy as well as restructure a recruitment network effectively dismantled when Bryan "Pop" Robson, the former chief scout, was dismissed this month.

Roberto De Fanti's appointment as director of football is expected to be confirmed soon, and Di Canio remains anxious to retain his best players – most notably the Belgium goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, who is reportedly wanted by Arsenal – in addition to signing a minimum of six players. "It's clear we have to bring in new players," the Sunderland manager said. "Maybe half a dozen, maybe more; we finished near the relegation zone so it's obvious we need to make some changes so as not to be in the same situation again.

"At the same time we already have some good-quality players and I want them to stay. I want to build something at Sunderland and take the club forward. That is my mission. The last thing I want is to let quality players leave here."

Titus Bramble and Matthew Kilgallon, who are out of contract next month, will not be returning and Phil Bardsley – who has another year remaining on his deal but is out of favour with Di Canio – also looks very likely to depart. But Adam Johnson appears poised to stay put.

The winger struggled under Martin O'Neill following a £10m move from Manchester City last summer but enjoyed a new lease of life once Di Canio arrived at the end of March. "The new gaffer wants us to play more free-flowing football and be more exciting and that's something to look forward to," Johnson said. "Hopefully next season we'll start causing teams more problems, attacking them higher up the pitch rather than playing defensively [as in O'Neill's] 30 out of 38 games a season."

Di Canio, reportedly monitoring Aston Villa's Andreas Weimann, is expected to concentrate on recruiting players from Italy and Portugal as he builds a side capable of playing with what he terms "a clear identity".