Phil Smith's Sunderland tour diary: What I've learned from chatting to players in Portugal

You don't need to spend too long around the Sunderland camp to see that the new arrivals have settled in quickly. Noah Sadiki is as lively off the pitch as he is on it, always on the move and always laughing. My feeling that he is a new fan favourite in the making grows by the day.

Sadiki was arguably the best performer as Sunderland held an open training session in the sweltering heat on Sunday, not for his football but for keeping a perfectly straight face as both Aji Alese and Eliezer Mayenda tried to put him off his interview by lurking just behind the Sky Sports cameras. Sadiki didn't stumble on a single word, and celebrated his achievement as if he had scored.

For what it's worth, we did get some excellent footage of a two-touch passing drill but it was rendered unusable when Trai Hume, as committed as ever to his defensive work, took a fearsome blow to a very sensitive area when closing down goalkeeper Matty Young. His team mates did their best to keep a straight face, and I'm pleased to report that he was able to finish the session.

The session ended with a volleying game and there were some impressive efforts, the best by a distance coming from young central defender Zak Johnson. His Zidane-esque effort had his team mates roaring in delight, and the man himself had his head in his hands in pure shock.

Make no mistake, though, the first couple of weeks of pre-season have been demanding and the level has gone through the roof.

Régis Le Bris's new backroom staff have made a big impression in supplementing the team already in place, bringing vast experience of elite environments. The new arrivals have already shown both their quality and their athleticism, underlining that this a club moving into a very different area.

To that end, it's been interesting to chat with some of the players who formed the core of last season's squad. Both Dan Ballard and Eliezer Mayenda are relishing the challenge ahead, and excited about the level of investment this summer. That is as much about the infrastructure, support and detail now available to the players as it is the new signings themselves. They also know that is now up to them to get up to the level and keep pace. Sunderland's early moves in the transfer window have shown that they mean business and have also shown that no one has a guaranteed space in the team. Hit the level, or fall behind. It really is that simple and as Ballard outlined, the task for those who have been for a while is to help the new players settle and ensure they understand the standards and unity that has been built over the course of the club's journey back to League One. In turn, it's on them to keep pace with the club's trajectory. You get the impression it's a battle they are genuinely relishing.

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Sunderland round off their trip with a clash against Sporting Lisbon on Monday night and having won the league for the last two seasons, the Portuguese side will represent another significant step up in quality. It's a game with a little bit of added significance as Régis Le Bris has made clear that decisions are coming soon on which players he feels can realistically be part of the Premier League squad next season. One game won't fundamentally guide those decisions, but it's the last chance for many to catch the eye. Particularly as Sunderland's transfer work is a long way from being done. While the focus in Portugal has been on training and the players already in camp, the transfer meetings have been constant whether organised or impromptu. This training camp is now coming to an end but on the pitch and off it, Sunderland are just getting started.

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