All the pre-season friendlies are now over for Sunderland as the main task of the Premier League comes to the Stadium of Light this coming weekend.
A late trip to Augsburg last time out saw Regis Le Bris' men clinch a 1-0 win in Germany as new £30m signing Habib Diarra proved to be the difference-maker on the day by powering home the decisive strike, alongside fellow fresh recruit Robin Roefs, showing off his quality in goal by saving a penalty.
Away from this encouraging performance against Bundesliga opposition, Le Bris and Co. have also welcomed in their tenth summer signing of a busy transfer window in the form of ex-West Ham United defender Arthur Masuaku.
He will be chomping at the bit to play on the opening day, as his ex-Hammers side travel to Wearside.
More defensive additions could soon be on the menu, away from just the experienced 31-year-old joining, with a former Newcastle United player even on the Black Cats' radar.
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris before the match
Sunderland make approach for £17m signing
Sunderland might well be into the double digits now with incoming signings, but they are yet to win themselves a centre-back this summer.
It hasn't been through lack of trying, however, with the likes of Bologna defender Jhon Lucumi consistently popping up as a target, alongside talk now that Fiorentina youngster Pietro Comuzzo could soon join the building in the heart of defence for a whopping £34.5m.
Of course, they are also close to landing Omar Alderete from Getafe to strengthen here, too.
Pietro Comuzzo-1
However, away from all these rumours, it has now surfaced that Sunderland have opened talks to understand the situation surrounding former Magpies defender Lloyd Kelly.
Indeed, as per reports from Italy, the current Juventus centre-back has admirers on Wearside, who would be willing to fork out £17m for the Premier League-proven defender's services so they can shore up ahead of a potential relegation battle in the top-flight.
lloyd-kelly-newcastle-united-juventus
There will likely be some apprehension involving the deal due to Kelly's prior St James' Park struggles, but Le Bris and Co will hope they can strike gold with the 26-year-old, in much the same way they managed with Daniel Ballard, who was once chucked to one side himself by Arsenal.
How Kelly could be Ballard 2.0 at Sunderland
Sunderland certainly gambled on Ballard when they initially signed him in 2022, considering he had never made a senior appearance for the Gunners and was regularly thrown out on loan.
However, now heading into the Premier League, the Northern Irishman is a solid member of Le Bris' starting XI, having now notched up 89 appearances for the Black Cats, with six important goals also coming his way as a colossus unafraid to launch himself into duels.
Kelly will hope he can instantly fit in, too, having been put through the wringer somewhat at Newcastle when last plying his trade at the very pinnacle of English football.
In total, the 26-year-old only lined up for 14 appearances on Tyneside before amazingly finding himself on the books of Juventus out in Italy.
Kelly's last two seasons @ Bournemouth
Stat (* = per 90 mins)
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches*
Accurate passes*
Tackles*
Clearances*
Total duels won*
Clean sheets
Stats by Sofascore
He has since impressed in spurts for the Serie A giants, with five clean sheets collected from just 11 league outings last season, but it will be his promising showings for the Cherries in the hustle and bustle of the Premier League that will have caught Sunderland's eye even more.
In particular, Kelly's offerings during the 2022/23 season for Bournemouth will stick out, as the ex-England U21 international managed to show off his class with the ball at his feet with two assists tallied up, on top of also collecting a respectable five clean sheets from his 23 clashes in the demanding division.
lloyd-kelly-bournemouth-premier-league
Ballard equally impressed in the Championship last season in this regard with one assist coming his way from an average of 33.2 accurate passes per match, with Kelly hopeful he can put a whirlwind few years behind him and cement himself as a Black Cats regular, alongside the former Gunners youngster.
After all, his time at Bournemouth even saw his ex-Cherries manager in Gary O'Neil, hail him as "incredible", as Kelly hopes his valiant efforts to steer his new employers away from any relegation danger.