Sunderland's dream return to the Premier League sees them riding high in the table.
They spent £155m in the summer on 14 new signings, and their new-look team has hit the ground running.
Sky Sports News' north east reporter Keith Downie takes a look at the secret behind their early-season success...
What's the recruitment and scouting set-up at the club?
Sunderland have a fairly unique set-up. Kristjaan Speakman is the club's sporting director, but was joined this summer by Frenchman Florian Ghisolfi.
The 40-year-old has been given the title "director of football", and both men are working in alignment to not just help Sunderland back to the Premier League, but to sustain their return.
Speakman has done much of the hard work since joining the club, leading them back from League One oblivion to the promised land of the Premier League.
He has played a big part in putting the foundations in place for a positive return to the top flight, having completely rebuilt the club's footballing structure.
Like any other club, Sunderland have regional, national and international scouting set-ups, but they also rely heavily on data and analytics.
Additionally, owner Kyril Louis Dreyfus and manager Regis Le Bris have also played a big part in a real team effort this summer. The club are big believers in "what's right, and not who's right."
They signed 14 players this summer to deal with the Premier League. That's not something one person is capable of.
Who drove the transfer strategy in the summer?
Some of the early signings had been targeted months earlier - this was not a reactive window.
Speakman and his team had last season put together two plans: one for remaining in the Championship, and one for promotion.
Once they triumphed at Wembley, it was clear they needed to invest in the first team to compete this season, but even I was surprised by the level they pushed it to. Around £155m was spent, not including of add-ons.
The first of those - Enzo Le Fée - was signed permanently as the final whistle blew at Wembley - due to a condition in his loan deal from Roma. So before they'd even had time to say "we're back" they'd broken their transfer record with the £17m arrival of the French midfielder whose influence, insiders tell me, had been key to promotion.
Ghisolfi then arrived from Roma too, and helped get many of the signings over the line. He officially started work at the start of July, but he'd been working away in the background before then.
The first signings (Habib Diarra, £27m from Strasbourg & Noah Sadiki, £14m from Union Saint Gilloise) had been identified before Ghisolfi's arrival, but the executive's experience and standing in the game helped land players such as Granit Xhaka, Omar Alderete and Nordi Mukiele.
But even someone like Brian Brobbey, who arrived on Deadline Day, had been in conversation with the club for weeks prior to that. He had initially decided to stay at Ajax until he saw the model at Sunderland taking shape and was made aware of the calibre of players arriving on Wearside.
The thinking from Sunderland was experience and physicality. Sunderland have added supreme experience with the arrival of on-pitch leader Xhaka - he has been the catalyst for many others to follow.
I was present when the 141-times capped Switzerland international skipper arrived on the owner's luxury private jet back in August. The sight of Xhaka landing on Wearside made it significantly easier to attract other big-name signings to the north east in the weeks that followed.
What's Ghisolfi's background and what makes him so good?
Ghisolfi first came to attention for the part he played as technical director at RC Lens, helping them gain promotion to League 1 and then stay there. This led to a move to OGC Nice, before moving to Roma in Serie A.
He has earned a reputation in recruitment, and his links to European clubs and networks saw Sunderland come calling.
The 14 Sunderland signings have, by and large, been a success, which is unusual in a competitive Premier League where new players often take time to settle.
But the Frenchman's workaholic style fits in perfectly with the lifestyle and values at the core of Sunderland.
I spent some time with him last week, where he revealed he's essentially living between the training ground and the stadium since his arrival in the summer window.
He lives and breathes football, and that fits into the ethos of the club as they return to the big time after an eight-year hiatus.
How were they able to spend so much money?
Sunderland had been stockpiling money for a while, which made their promotion from the ultra-competitive Championship even more impressive.
The likes of Ross Stewart and Jack Clarke had been sold in recent windows for a combined £30m, without the club really splashing out on replacements. The model was to bring in young players, improve them and sell them on at a profit. It was working.
But what they achieved last year, with far from one of the highest wage bills in the Championship, was stunning. Even last summer, as they were promoted, they sold Jobe Bellingham and Tom Watson to Borussia Dortmund and Brighton for a combined £40m. The combined fees of those four players for a combined £70m is around half of what they have spent this summer.
Sunderland fans were disappointed when Bellingham left for Dortmund in the wake of their play-off triumph, but he has been replaced by three players of quality: Xhaka, Diarra and Sadki.
Although Xhaka is coming towards the end of his career, he was a snip at £13m rising to £17m, and for me, Diarra and Sadiki have the ability to reach higher levels in the coming years. The pair have excelled in the early days of their Premier League careers. In short, Sunderland have bought well, but they've also sold well. And that is key in a PSR world.
Who convinced Xhaka to join?
Labelled the "game changer" by sources at the club, everyone at senior level was involved. It was an ambitious move, but one that appears to be paying off in spades.
The transfer wouldn't have happened without Dreyfus, who convinced his compatriot to make the move. He rolled out the red carpet with his luxury private jet and flew in to collect him en route to Sunderland.
But in reality, Xhaka had unfinished business in the Premier League. The two-time FA Cup winner with Arsenal wanted one last try at the big time, and turned down more lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia to instead move to Wearside.
Dreyfus pulled out the stops to get his man, and there was a "pinch me moment" from many within the club when Bayer Leverkusen, with whom Xhaka had won the Bundesliga just 12 months earlier, gave the move the green light.
I was with Sunderland on their pre-season camp in Portugal, and it was clear they needed a leader. Xhaka has taken that mantle and led from the front. Players have told me they are scared to make a misplaced pass in training, in fear of letting down Granit.
Have Sunderland ambitions changed after positive start?
Le Bris continually states that 40 points and survival is the aim this season, but a win against Everton on Monday Night Football will see them halfway to that target after just 10 games.
No Sunderland fan, even in their wildest dreams, could've predicted that. Publicly, they'll say staying up is the target, but privately, it would be remiss of them not to be looking beyond that.
They've formed a team ethic on strong bonds quickly, and have got the recruitment spot on. Each of the new signings has played a part so far, and it feels very much that they have all bought into the ethos of the club. The way the club have done this so quickly has to be applauded.
There is a lot of football to be played and of course anything can happen, but having watched Sunderland at The Stadium of Light a number of times in their unbeaten at home start, I don't think too many teams will go there and win this season.
What are Sunderland's plans for January?
They plan to be active again in January and they are in a strong position to do so, but they will only add if they feel a player can add to the group. Sunderland are clever with their recruitment and will only add if they feel it's the right player.
I think they are perhaps a bit light on the wings and may feel adding there will give them more options in attack.
It will be difficult to navigate AFCON in December and January, with up to seven players leaving the club temporarily to go and represent their countries.
That may also have a knock-on effect on the January window, with short-term fixes to see them through a possibility.
But one thing is for sure, after a summer of fun watching a plethora of players arrive, the Sunderland fans are looking forward to what the January transfer window may bring just as much as their next match!
