Sunderland have made five additions to their playing squad this summer and are closing in on a sixth

Régis Le Bris says Sunderland are demonstrating that they want to compete in the Premier League with their transfer business this summer.

The Black Cats have already signed five players since winning promotion to the top tier at Wembley and are close to a sixth, with Simon Adingra close to a from Brighton & Hove Albion for an initial £18.5 million. Once concluded that will take Sunderland's spend above the £75 million mark for the summer.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Le Bris said Sunderland were well aware of the scale of the challenge that awaits them next season but added that players joining the club ahead of multiple other clubs showed the ambition.

"I think the owner, the whole club, are showing the ambition," Le Bris said.

"It's not just about surviving, we want to be competitive in this league with the identity of Sunderland. We are clear in the way we want to recruit and the way we want to work. The competition is so high and you need to deserve this joy, this pleasure at the end. Football is about playing but it's about hard work as well. Our players, people in the building, are really aware about the work we need to do.

"I'm happy because we need to reinforce the squad. The players who have decided to join Sunderland had multiple choices and decided to come here even with the same offer from many other clubs. It means they are convinced by the energy of the project."

Le Bris said the club would be sticking to their principles this summer and insisted that the arrival of the club's new director of football, Florent Ghisolfi, would not fundamentally change the way the club operates.

"We expect obviously a huge challenge because we play in the best league in the world, with the best players and the best coaches," Le Bris said.

"We'll have to lift our standards everywhere, for me, the staff, everyone in the building. At least we can work from our pillars and foundations, it's about our identity and after that we'll see. It's important to keep our identity because the risk when you recruit new people is to have multiple voices, probably multiple motivations. The way you can have the same message to be efficient is really important. Even with a new head of football, it doesn't change the dynamic. It's one strength more in the team, and it will I hope reinforce our output."

Luke O'Nien on the behind-the-scenes work happening at Sunderland

Sunderland stalwart Luke O'Nien also spoke to Sky Sports, and said the club were building their infrastructure significantly in the wake of promotion. The club's playing squad returned to pre-season training this week and play their first friendlies on Saturday when they face Gateshead and South Shields.

"It's incredible seeing the impact of what the Premier League can do," he said.

"It's been the goal since the day I joined and so many people collectively have invested so much into it. We're now starting to see that we're building again, every year and every transfer window it's important that the club keeps moving forward both individually and collectively and that's what we're doing now. The club are making sure that we're getting stronger in all departments and we're starting to see that now."

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