Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ father Robert was renowned as a skilled poker player and those talents appeared to have passed down to his son.

The Sunderland owner’s key role in the Malick Fofana saga – flying to Lyon to personally pitch the Black Cats’ ambitious project – was a high-stakes move.

But a decision laced with risk ended up paying off spectacularly as the club ended a difficult transfer window in very good shape.

Tuesday ended up being the longest of nights for Louis-Dreyfus, who remains a central and influential presence on football matters at Sunderland.

Sources confirmed that Fofana flip-flopped four times between Crystal Palace and Sunderland before finally landing on the Black Cats in a transfer negotiation that must rank as one of the most remarkable in the club’s history.

With both clubs prepared to meet the increasing demands of Fofana’s representatives, it meant that even as late as 8pm on Tuesday they were in the dark about whether he would “turn left or right” onto one of two private planes laid on by the Premier League rivals.

In the event, Louis-Dreyfus, only eight years Fofana’s senior, “being on the ground” helped tip the balance in Sunderland’s favour and prompted a huge sigh of relief on Wearside.

It feels like enthusiasm around this biggest of seasons can finally kick-start after a summer spent nervously waiting on transfer news.

Sunderland harbour no ill will towards Fofana for his U-turns.

Indeed, there is sympathy that he got dragged into such extraordinary deadline day drama.

It shouldn’t overshadow what a savvy piece of business the club have pulled off in a position that was identified at the start of the summer as a priority area for improvement.

He is a club record signing from Lyon, but £26m (with £5.15m of add-ons) for a player of his profile and age feels like a snip in a market where players with less potential are going for double that.

Ultimately a gamble to wait until the end of the transfer window paid off.

Fofana had been at the top of their list of dream deals at the start of the summer but it was only in the final week of the window that it became apparent that Lyon were in a position where they needed to sell and Sunderland found themselves in play for the signing.

Before then, Igor Paixao was the main focus of the deal but the Black Cats – as they had done for most of the summer – stuck to their guns on their valuation and walked away from a transfer they didn’t feel was value for money.

That approach will help them protect their all-important squad cost ratio (SCR).

Sources suggest the club are “comfortable” with their position after a late flurry of spending and there will be no breach of Uefa’s tough rules, which dictate squad costs must not exceed 70 per cent of revenue.

But January may be quiet and the model may have to return to player trading in the future if Sunderland are to create enough financial headroom to keep kicking on.

That process has started, with a loan agreement for Simon Adingra with Ajax for £3.2m with a £13m option for the Amsterdam club to buy.

With Turkey’s transfer window also still open, Abdoullah Ba is expected to go to Sivasspor.

Those sales aside, a conscious decision not to sell the club’s “crown jewels” seemed to underpin much of their thinking.

There was serious interest in Bryan Brobbey, Granit Xhaka and Noah Sidiki in recent weeks – and an enquiry from Chelsea for the last of those three was knocked back forcefully in the final week of the transfer window.

The same club made Xhaka an eye-watering contract offer at the start of the summer, only for Sunderland and the midfielder to recommit in a move that sent a signal to the market that they were serious about holding onto their best players.

With a historic European campaign beginning later this month, the club feel keeping their star men (who, crucially, were all happy to stay) gives them their best chance of making inroads in the Europa League while building on last year’s seventh-placed finish.

Internal data-driven research suggested that big sales in a year where they face two games a week for most of the winter drastically increased the chances of relegation – something they simply won’t countenance at the Stadium of Light.

Football logic has driven all of the big decisions.

Sunderland’s three aims in the summer were to increase the height profile of the squad, improve versatility in wide areas and keep a nice blend of youth and experience.

Those boxes were ticked with Dayann Methalie, Jules Ahoka, Thomas Meunier and Kevin Danso.

Now the transfer window has closed, thoughts are beginning to turn to the first European nights of a generation at the Stadium of Light.

As well as supporter excitement there is an opportunity to – in words used inside the commercial department at the club – “take Sunderland to the world”.

That means more revenue-enhancing deals on the horizon.

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“We know our own value,” one insider says.

That is why they have waited to unveil a front-of-shirt sponsor – a £10m deal with Visit Ghana has been agreed – and are concluding the most lucrative sleeve sponsor in the club’s history.

Both should be concluded in time for Sunderland’s home game with Arsenal, and shouldn’t need the presence of the club’s tireless owner to get them over the line.