Steve Bruce can expect money to spend this summer to strengthen his squad despite Sunderland recording losses of £26m.
Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn has vowed to back his manager with the funds to push the club into the top half of the Premier League thanks to the support of American owner Ellis Short.
"I don't know exactly what Steve wants in the summer," Quinn told the Guardian.
"But if he says to me, 'I want these five and these four can go' and there is a difference of £10m, yeah, we'll live outside our means.
"But we will only do it if Ellis Short says, 'I will do it and the debt is not in the business'.
"In theory, Ellis takes the hit. You have to understand he is a winner. He wants to do things in a smart way.
"He will be happy if we can get rid of that yo-yo tag and have a couple of years in the top 10."