The body of a man found dead has been confirmed as Tim Carter, the goalkeeping coach at Premiership football club Sunderland.

Mr Carter, who made 50 appearances for the club as a player between 1987 and 1992 and represented eight other professional sides before moving into coaching, was found in bushes by a dog walker in the Stretford area of Manchester on Thursday.

The 40-year-old had been reported missing from his home in Durham earlier that morning

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “Shortly after 12pm on Thursday 19 June police were called to Highfield Close in Stretford following reports of a body found.

“Officers attended and found the body of a 40-year-old man. There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.”

Mr Carter was academy and first-team coach with the club, nicknamed the Black Cats, but lost his first team duties to former Manchester United and Holland goalkeeper Raimond Van Der Gouw at the start of last season.

Sunderland fans have paid tribute to Mr Carter on a club message board www.readytogo.net . One read: "RIP Mr Tim Carter, gone but never forgotten in the hearts of Sunderland AFC supporters. Condolences to your friends and family."

Mr Carter began his career with Bristol Rovers, making his debut at 18, by which time he had already been capped three times for England's youth team.

He joined Sunderland in 1987 and went on to play for Newport, Carlisle, Birmingham, Hartlepool, Millwall, Blackpool and Oxford before rejoining Sunderland as a coach.

He also worked with the Estonia national team as a part-time coach.

A postmortem is due to take place next week.