Sunderland have already started preparing for what they hope will be another promotion push in the Championship next season by bringing in defender Nectarios Triantis from Australian side Central Coast Mariners.
Black Cats supporters will hope it is the first of many new recruits this summer, with a new attacker no doubt high on Tony Mowbray's list of targets following Amad Diallo's return to Manchester United.
Question marks remain over the future of Jack Clarke, who is reportedly wanted by a number of Premier League clubs, but for now, Mowbray will be focused on adding to what he has, rather than worrying about any more high-profile departures.
According to Africa Foot United, as carried by the Sunderland Echo, Sunderland are close to doing exactly that by potentially moving for free agent Neeskens Kebano.
Is Neeskens Kebano a good option for Sunderland?
Kebano has spent seven seasons on Fulham's books – one of those on loan at Middlesbrough – but his contract is due to expire this month and the experienced midfielder is expected to move on.
Sunderland are said to be interested in bringing in a player of Kebano's ilk; someone who has experience of playing at Championship level and with the quality to play in the Premier League should they earn promotion.
The DR Congo international featured just 17 times for Fulham in the Premier League this past season, though his limited playing time was down to an injury sustained early in the campaign that ruled him out for six months.
Indeed, Kebano's injury was described as a "big loss" for Fulham by The Athletic reporter Peter Rutzler, who also labelled the 31-year-old an "excellent" player who "looked at home in the Premier League."
Despite his relative lack of action, Kebano still managed three assists last season. Perhaps of more relevance, though, is the form he showed in the previous campaign when scoring nine goals and assisting six more in Fulham's successful Championship promotion-winning campaign.
That puts Kebano in a similar bracket to Ross Stewart, who sustained a season-ending ACL injury in January that hampered Sunderland's promotion push. The Scotland international may have only played 13 times last season, yet he still managed ten goals and three assists.
Even if Clarke does indeed follow Diallo in departing the Stadium of Light, Sunderland fans will have plenty to be excited about with Kebano and Stewart potentially linking up next term, with the latter set to return in time for pre-season training.
With 0.69 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes over the past year, as per FBref, Stewart is ranked in the top 3% among his positional peers, while Kebano is ranked in the top 9% for assists.
That shows serious potential for what could be, though both players will of course have to show that their injury woes are behind them.
Kebano is also capable of playing on both flanks, as he showed last season when starting six times on the left-hand side of attack and three times on the right, as per WhoScored. That type of versatility will come in handy for Mowbray, who has some talented forwards to choose from.
The former Paris Saint-Germain player may have to take a cut on his £30k-a-week wages, as cited by Capology, but with no transfer fee to pay, it seems a smart choice for Sunderland as they look to go one better than last season.