This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Fan Perspective’ series, this content strand is where we deliver an opinion-based outlook from the perspective of a certain club's fanbase on the matter at hand…

It's safe to say that it's not quite been the start that many Sunderland fans would have hoped for in their league campaign to date.

The Black Cats are currently sat eighth in the League One table, as they look to go one better than last season, after missing out on promotion back into the Championship by the narrowest of margins.

Sunderland were beaten by Charlton Athletic in the Play-Off Final at Wembley as Patrick Bauer hit the winner in injury-time to deny the Black Cats the chance to win promotion.

After an inconsistent start to this year's campaign, the club decided to part company with Jack Ross, with former Bolton boss Phil Parkinson being appointed as his replacement.

But Parkinson hasn't coped much better in charge of Sunderland, and will be hoping his side can bounce back from their Carabao Cup exit in midweek when they take on relegation-threatened Southend United on Saturday.

There has been an interesting development emerge this week though, with Sunderland hinting that an 'investment deal' has been agreed with FFP heading into the January transfer window.

This will be a welcome boost to Sunderland's promotion chances, and fans have every reason to be excited about the future after this recent report.

It is understood that it isn't a takeover of the club, but it seems as though it'll provide Phil Parkinson with some much-needed transfer funds so that he can strengthen areas of his current squad.

Sunderland haven't got a bad squad on paper, but a number of their players aren't performing up to the standards that supporters know they can hit.

Will Grigg is a classic example of this, with the forward scoring just two goals so far this season, and it's clear to see that his confidence isn't what it used to be in front of goal, with Grigg missing his penalty in the shoot-out against Oxford United.

So, Parkinson and Sunderland could certainly benefit from having additional funds available in January and in the future, as it could mean they'll be playing their football at a higher level in future years.

Sunderland are somewhat of a 'sleeping giant' at the moment, and supporters will be hoping that this investment deal will bring back the glory days to the Stadium of Light sooner rather than later.