In a meeting in Amsterdam last week, recruitment officials from a top European club and an English rival got talking about the French transfer market this summer.
Long viewed as the Holy Grail for clubs trying to get ahead of the game – young French-based stars are on relatively low wages but with a high ceiling and the feeling is they tend to land smoothly into English football – it is also regarded as a highly competitive market where scouts work diligently for years to identify those ready to make the leap.
“The consensus,” one person familiar with the discussion recounts to The i Paper, “was that Sunderland had pretty much got it boxed off now.”
Given where the Black Cats were a few years ago, that feels like a remarkable statement.
But fresh off promotion and with a recruitment model that has a superb hit rate, Sunderland are flexing their muscles in a market where they have been quietly building networks for months.
Enzo Le Fee followed Regis Le Bris to the Stadium of Light (Photo: Getty)
Monday bought the £30m club-record signing of Habib Diarra from Strasbourg, the Senegal international signed to replace Jobe Bellingham.
Hot on the heels of a permanent deal for Enzo Le Fee that kickstarted a spending drive which could run to nine figures with the club – in the words of one source – “having a go” and determined not to replicate the fate of the promoted clubs last season.
Ipswich Town were no strangers to spending either – their net outlay on players was more than £100m – but opted to go for the best players in the Championship, perhaps with one eye on resale value when they went down.
Sunderland’s approach has been different, utilising the superb talent identification in overseas markets that has made head of recruitment Stuart Harvey such a pivotal part of their operation.
Adding Florent Ghisolfi as director of football – the announcement was made official earlier this week – is set to boost their reach in France.
A close ally of manager Regis Le Bris, he apparently impressed owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus in negotiations over Le Fee and enhances their ability to get their foot in the door for the best young French players.
A model that has worked will be “tweaked” rather than overhauled, which is why additional overseas signings feel more likely than, for example, an emotional reunion with Jordan Henderson – something that many supporters crave.
Agreements have also been struck for left-back Reinildo Mandava from Atletico Madrid, and Union Saint-Gilloise midfielder Noah Sadiki for £17m – viewed in some circles as a potential bargain for a player with a high ceiling.
They want a goalkeeper and have made a bid for Chelsea’s Djordje Petrovic, who spent last season on loan at Strasbourg, although competition for his signature is fierce.
There is risk attached to all of this and the Premier League will be unforgiving.
But it isn’t as if the club hasn’t had to face down doubts before, not least when they appointed Le Bris, whose tactical acumen will be a huge asset if they are to establish themselves in the top flight.
Sunderland’s trick has been to offer a platform to very good young prospects and actually stick to their word on giving them opportunities and experience.
That was a big part of their pitch to Chris Rigg last summer when the midfielder had every top Premier League club contacting his agent.
But Rigg opted to stay at Sunderland as opposed to being viewed as a development prospect and featured more than 40 times last season.
Of similar importance is their commitment to the player trading model that became a driving force of sporting director Kristjaan Speakman’s plan.
Fans might not always like to hear it but bringing the best prospects to Wearside has involved an understanding that the club wouldn’t stand in their way if opportunities arise that work for both parties.
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Could Sunderland have stood firm and kept Bellingham after promotion? Undoubtedly.
In a world where average English talent comes with a £40m asking price, his £27.8m fee could be viewed as on the skinny side but as they did with Jack Clarke a year ago, Sunderland sold when the price enabled them to keep their project on track.
“It’s an ambitious project but that comes into your thinking with a club that have just been promoted,” one agent who has dealt with Sunderland and manages a number of top prospects tells The i Paper.
“The difference for them now is that when they go to players and agents, they can point to the success they’ve had.
“As a Premier League club they don’t need to talk up the vision as much when they’ve proved it works.”