The transfer roles of Sunderland's Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Mowbray and Kristjaan Speakman explained

The transfer window is well underway in the Championship and around England - and Sunderland have concluded some welcome early business already.

17-year-old England youth midfielder Jobe Bellingham has signed for the Black Cats from Birmingham City, while Sunderland have also concluded transfers for Nectar Triantis, 20, and Luis Hemir Semedo, 19.

But who makes the decisions at Sunderland these days after the club's radical overhaul in terms of their football strategy since the days of Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven? Here, we take a look:

Kyril Louis Dreyfus and Juan Sartori

As with any organisation or business, ownership tends to dictate the general strategy and this is true with transfers and, crucially, the funding of incoming deals.

As majority owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will have to sign off on any money spent on outgoing deals with the 26-year-old chairman having done so three times in recent weeks after deals for Bellingham, Triantis and Hemir were agreed.

Louis-Dreyfus recently increased his stake to 64 per cent, co-owner with Juan Sartori holding 36 per cent of the shares in Sunderland. With the way football club ownership works, funding must be committed to on a pro-rata basis.

That, in effect, means Sartori and Louis-Dreyfus have to mutually agree on any money spent.

Kristjaan Speakman and Stuart Harvey

Under the ownership and next in the chain comes sporting director Kristjaan Speakman and head of recruitment Stuart Harvey.

The data analysis and recruitment team at the Academy of Light are responsible for identifying potential transfer targets (as well as your traditional scouts) with those departments overseen mostly by Speakman with the recruitment team reporting initially to Harvey.

Once the pair have analysed the data and consulted with their teams they will move on solidifying a list of identified targets and, in conjunction with Sunderland's ownership group, table bids and offers for permanent transfers and loanees. This can be under the guidance of a budget or discussed on a case-by-case basis with ownership.

Tony Mowbray

Sunderland's head coach has input in recruitment at Sunderland at various stages of the process but does not formally take part in negotiations over transfer fees and contracts.

That older model was typical of how most football clubs used to be run before the adoption of the director of the football model. Those negotiations will be handled by sporting director Speakman with the blessing of Sunderland's board.

Mowbray, however, does offer advice on what he and his coaching staff feel is required to progress both in terms of squad depth and which human qualities and technical attributes are required.

It must be noted, however, that Speakman and Mowbray do work closely. Once the head coach has approved a player and Speakman is satisfied that it is a deal that works for the club, then the wheels begin to turn on trying to strike a deal.

During negotiations with players, Mowbray may be involved in talks to outline where they'd fit into the team and what to expect if they make the move. as was recently the case with Triantis, Hemir and Bellingham.

Want to know more about how Sunderland's transfer process works? Our chief Sunderland writer Phil Smith takes you through the nitty-gritty details here.