The next key tasks for Florent Ghisolfi and Kristjaan Speakman at Sunderland explained

It has been a hectic few months for sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and director of football Florent Ghisolfi, who have overseen Sunderland's biggest ever transfer window spend following promotion to the Premier League.

So what's next on the agenda for the pair and the hierarchy at the club? Here, we take a closer look on what to expect next..

RUN A FREE AGENT CHECK

Sunderland's first step after the transfer window closes is always to run a check on the free-agent market. It's one they vary rarely recruit from, primarily because January is often starting to approach on the horizon by the time new arrivals come close to match fitness having not had a proper pre-season. However, they have on occasions signed players after the summer window and striker Aaron Connolly was one example.

On this occasion, you'd say it's extremely unlikely. Getting a deal for Bertrand Traoré over the line with minutes to spare meant Sunderland recruited in the key positions they were worried about heading into deadline day, and they now have at least two players for every position in the squad. They also have a number of players returning from injury after the international break, including Luke O'Nien.

SECURE SOME FINAL OUTGOING DEALS

With a number of leagues still open for business, Speakman and Ghisolfi need to find clubs for those on the fringes of the squad who would really benefit from some additional game time this season. Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi are the two obvious examples, players who could still have a long-term future at the club but aren't quite ready for the Premier League yet.

Ideally, the club would also move on the players who were informed at the start of the season that they would not be involved in the first-team group this season. Abdoullah Ba, Jay Matete, Timothee Pembele, Joe Anderson and Ian Poveda are all contenders for a move, though progress so far this summer has been slow.

You can read more about which leagues can still sign players and how long for in our piece here.

Another task will be to determine which academy players need a move to non-league to get some senior football under their belt, though that's a piece of work that will be done in conjunction with academy boss Robin Nicholls.

CONFIRM THE PREMIER LEAGUE 25-MAN SQUAD

Following the closure of the transfer window, Sunderland must now submit a 25-man playing squad to the Premier League. U21 players do not have to be registered, which is a boost for Sunderland as this includes players such as Eliezer Mayenda, Chris Rigg and Chemsdine Talbi. However, with eight of those players having to be classed as homegrown players, some senior players at the club will have to miss out.

This of course will be a decision taken in collaboration with head coach Régis Le Bris and his coaching staff. You can read our full piece on the rules in question here.

STEP UP CONTRACT TALKS

It's been another positive summer in the main for Sunderland's contract management, with new deals secured for top talents such as Eliezer Mayenda, Chris Rigg, Trai Hume and Trey Ogunsuyi. The two key outstanding bits of business to be done on this front are Dan Neil and Dennis Cirkin, who have both entered the final year of their current deals with no resolution yet being reached.

"I wouldn't say it's a concern," Speakman said this week.

"We've had similar situations in the past. It's never really been a concern for us because we're on top of the conversation. So there's no ambiguity on where it's at. It's just so difficult over the transfer window to do everything, and we've got some outstanding topics to discuss and to resolve, and they're two of them. So we'll do as we've always done. We'll continue to have those conversations and get to a consensus and a decision on it."

Ideally, though, Sunderland would want a resolution before January. If it does not look as if either player is going to sign a new deal, a sale might have to be considered to help protect the club's financial/PSR position. With Neil rejecting transfer interest this summer to fight for his place, however, there are still some grounds for optimism.

Sunderland may yet look to reward some other players in the squad for their progress with new deals. It's known that talks were held with Romaine Mundle over a new and improved contract this summer, though his hamstring injury has clearly stalled that progress. That's something which could be revisited in the coming months, with the winger expected back from injury in mid-October.

START PLANNING FOR THE JANUARY WINDOW

Sunderland's excellent summer window means they should be approaching January from a position of strength, able to focus on quality rather than quantity. Even so, the club will want to be well ahead to capitalise on any opportunities that arise and building contacts across markets will be a key task for Ghisolfi in particular moving forward.

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