Cowell 'teams Cardle with Robbie mentor'

Simon Cowell has reportedly hired one of Robbie Williams's mentors to work with Matt Cardle.

The Sun claims that Cowell has called on Chris Briggs to join the X Factor winner's A&R team, who will work on his debut album. Briggs is credited with introducing songwriting partners Williams and Guy Chambers.

"Chris was poached by Sony from his former label EMI over the summer," a source said. "It was a big-money deal but Chris is commonly regarded as one of the most gifted individuals in the music business.

"Simon's decision to team him with Matt is very canny indeed."

The insider continued: "Simon is aware that while Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke have been huge successes, the blokes who have won the show have fared considerably worse.

"Simon and Chris are determined that Matt will be taken seriously. They are steering clear of anything that sounds too like pop and concentrating on serious material they hope will stand the test of time."

Cardle has previously stated that he hopes to "go down the Leona Lewis route" and achieve chart success in America.

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