Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was asked about Sunderland's start to the season and plans for the January transfer window.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has been speaking about the Black Cats' start to the season.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has been speaking about the Black Cats' start to the season.
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Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has admitted the club's plans for the January transfer window have changed following their bright start to the Premier League campaign.
The Black Cats had taken 17 points from their opening nine games ahead of the clash with Everton and were briefly up to second in the table last weekend following their win over Chelsea.
Regis Le Bris will be hoping Sunderland can strengthen in the January transfer window and look to build on their promising start to the season.
When asked if their success will change their approach to the January transfer window, Louis-Dreyfus said: "I would say definitely a little bit.
"Obviously if we would have been in the bottom three by Christmas or we are in the top six at Christmas, that changes the ambition a little bit. We are currently preparing for all scenarios.
“But we’ve been doing that since the summer. So hopefully we will be going into the January window with a top ten finish in mind and we will prepare and execute the transfer window to give us the best chance."
Sunderland have prided themselves on signing young talents and developing them in order to reinvest into the squad, with the likes of Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson departing last summer, acting as a platform for their incredible summer investment.
When asked if the desire for younger players has been informing their transfer decisions, he replied: “I think so. To be honest, it’s become a little bit of our DNA the last four and a half years.
"We’ve had the youngest team in League One and the Championship and I think we’re the second youngest here in the Premier League. I don’t think we’ll make a decision based on age.
"However, we think this club and the style of play, with a lot of energy and belief, suits a young team. I think we’ve seen that this year. Having said that, I think the experience we have recruited this year has been very, very important.
"People talk a lot about Granit Xhaka but I think all of the other experienced players around, Reinildo and even the ones from the year before have played a vital role.
"I would say we have taken a little bit of a pragmatic view, but not going against our core beliefs. As you said there, the statistics showed us that unless you do something extraordinary you’re likely going to go back to the Championship.
"For us, we didn’t really set ourselves a budget in terms of the money we want to spend. We had an ambition to try and bring in the players we wanted.
"Fortunately a lot of the deals we wanted to do, we could and we were able to conclude them. As a result of that, the spending in the end was big. But most importantly, we got the players that we wanted."