Sunderland are said to be open to spending on players this summer, but only if they offer good future value, as per a recent report by the Sunderland Echo.

The Black Cats are yet to have dipped into the current transfer market as they weigh up which areas of the current squad need strengthening ahead of what is expected to be a busy few months at the Stadium of Light.

Question marks still remain over the futures of the likes of Charlie Wyke, Luke O'Nien and Aiden McGeady, with the trio yet to have committed to new deals with the Black Cats.

It is stated in the report that the North East outfit are willing to shell out on players over the next few weeks, however any new additions that are brought in must have some sort of sell on value in the long term.

By putting this into practice, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Lee Johnson hope to make the club more sustainable in the long term after recording losses during their first few seasons in Sky Bet League One.

The Verdict 

It is clear that Sunderland are looking to follow in the same sort of footsteps as the likes of Brentford and Peterborough United in the long term.

Both of the aforementioned clubs have taken on a Moneyball approach to transfers in recent years and have reaped the rewards of signing players that have excellent sell on values.

Bringing in players with the view to developing them and then selling them on for a profit will be key to getting the Black Cats to be fair more sustainable in the future.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see if Johnson and co prioritise players at the younger end of the spectrum as opposed to older pros, as these are the types of target that have better potential to improve.