What does the Enzo Le Fee deal tell us about Sunderland's new outlook?

Sign promising, unproven youngsters for a low fee, develop them within the first team, and either sell them on for a profit or use them to improve the starting line-up.

There have been mixed results – for every Jobe Bellingham there has been a Jewison Bennette – but on the whole, it is hard to dispute that the policy has helped Sunderland successfully reestablish themselves back in the Championship and ensure that the club have remained on an even financial keel.

While the Black Cats might have been pioneers, it is also notable that the vast majority of clubs in the Championship are now following some kind of similar model.

Enzo Le Fee, however, is not a ‘development’ signing. While he might just be 24, the French midfielder has clocked up more than 100 appearances in Ligue 1, attracting transfer interest from Liverpool and Arsenal along the way, and been the subject of a €23m move that took him to Serie A.

Admittedly, things did not go to plan at Roma, and while Sunderland have signed off an agreement for a permanent club-record transfer if they win promotion this season, they have not gone ‘all-in’ on Le Fee to the extent that they are committed to signing him no matter what happens this term.

Nevertheless, the deal that saw Le Fee make his way to Wearside at the end of last week undoubtedly represents a marked shift away from the ‘project’ that Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman have overseen to this point.

Committing to big money for something approaching the finished article is very different to plucking unproven youngsters from the French second tier. It’s also a fair bit different to signing Callum Styles on loan from Barnsley, which is what Sunderland were doing 12 months ago.

So, what does the Le Fee deal tell us about where Sunderland are currently at, and where the hierarchy want them to go in the short and medium-term?

Well, for a start, it backs up what Speakman has been saying for a while now about being willing to adapt the club’s transfer policy as time progresses and players begin to move on.

Sunderland’s sporting director has always been open about adopting a recruitment model that relies on players being traded for a profit, generating funds which can then be reinvested into the purchase of better-quality players who command higher transfer fees and wages.

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The £15m sale of Jack Clarke to Ipswich in the summer was the first time the current regime had sold a ‘blue-chip’ player for considerable profit.

It is not simply a case of reinvesting the Clarke money into Le Fee – if Sunderland win promotion and are committed to signing the Frenchman, they will be boosted by a major financial windfall whatever happens in their first season back in the top-flight – but this was always the way Speakman envisaged Sunderland’s transfer policy working.

With every year that passes, the standard of player coming into the club, and the money that is available to purchase them, should increase. The hierarchy will claim, with some justification, this is ‘the project’ working.

It is also a huge vote of confidence in Regis Le Bris. The head coach’s close personal relationship with Le Fee was a major factor in the deal that was announced at the end of last week, both in terms of identifying the midfielder as a key January target and persuading him to sign on for half-a-season in the Championship when clubs in a variety of top-flight European leagues were also chasing him.

Le Fee clearly admires and respects Le Bris – Sunderland’s ownership group clearly feel their current head coach is worth backing. That hasn’t always been the case in the last few years, but Le Bris has earned the support of those above him through his excellent work in the first half of the season.

Admittedly, the level of risk involved in the Le Fee deal is heavily mitigated by the fact that he will return to Roma if Sunderland do not win promotion this season. There is still a significant financial outlay involved in the loan deal though, with the expectation that at least one forward will also be arriving before the end of the month. The Sunderland hierarchy have listened to what Le Bris was asking for, and given him it.

They have also acknowledged the huge opportunity that exists in the second half of the season, as well, perhaps, as the potential for a significant downside if things do not go to plan.

Sunderland have got themselves into an excellent position 26 games into the campaign, sitting in fourth position, just two points off the top two.

Might Le Fee be the player that gets them over the line? Possibly. So, Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman have moved quickly at the start of January to land him. Would they have made that move if the Black Cats had been sitting in 14th? Almost certainly not.

Promotion is a definite possibility this season, and for all that Sunderland fans might not want to hear this, it might be also be essential if the most exciting Black Cats squad for a decade is not to be broken up. If the Black Cats do not go up this season, what happens to Jobe Bellingham? Chris Rigg? Anthony Patterson? Dan Ballard?

It’s hard to imagine the current squad remaining intact for another year in the Championship, and while they almost certainly wouldn’t admit to it publicly, that surely came into Louis-Dreyfus and Speakman’s thinking as they signed off on the Le Fee deal.

Go up this season, and a host of potential problems disappear. Who better to help make that happen than a £20m midfielder with a proven track record of excelling under the current Sunderland boss?