Kristjaan Speakman explains Sunderland's signing of Milan Aleksic

Aleksic joined the Black Cats on deadline day, signing a four-year deal that saw him complete his permanent move from Serbian club Radnicki in a move worth around £3 million.

The teenager, who currently plays for Serbia's senior team after moving up from the U19s, has been on Sunderland's radar for several seasons but Speakman admits he was unsure if the Black Cats would be able to sign the teenager given the stiff competition for his services.

“We have had our eye on Milan for a long time, he is a player we have been interested in for a long time,” said Sunderland's sporting director. “The only problem was the large number of competitors we faced in the search for his signature.”

“The boy rightly wanted to take his time to make the right decision. I think that we were able to prevail in this competitive environment was really very pleasing.

“He's a young player who has shown real signs of his future potential and of course this week he's playing with the Serbia national team, which shows what kind of player he is. He could have gone to a lot of other big, big clubs in Europe, but he's chosen to come here, which I think is a really exciting thing for Sunderland as a club.”

Aleksic came through the youth ranks of Partizan Belgrade before moving to Radnicki, where he played in the Serbian top division last season.

The youngster made 25 first-team appearances, scoring two goals and providing seven assists. He played for Radnicki in two Conference League qualifiers earlier this season before moving to Wearside.

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He had played in various midfield positions at his previous club, but was now signed by Sunderland to develop into an attacking midfielder.

“In his last professional environment he played in a lot of different positions in the midfield,” said Speakman. “We are definitely looking for players in the midfield who are flexible but can specialise in one of the two positions we currently play.”

“At the moment we're playing more with a deep-lying number six and then an eight and a ten, or however you want to describe it. I think in the long term he'll probably be more of an attacking midfielder in that eight or ten role, although he has played in other positions.”

He is being given time to adjust to life in England and, given the strength of Sunderland's midfield, Regis Le Bris can afford to take things slowly.

Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham, Alan Browne and Chris Rigg have all played at the heart of the Black Cats' midfield this season, with Salis Abdul Samed another option following his last-day loan move from Lens.

“In terms of expectations, I think the good thing about the current situation of our squad is that he (Aleksic) can come in and adapt as quickly or as long as he needs to,” Speakman said. “There's no pressure or need for him to step in immediately as a starter or even come off the bench.”

“If he comes in and does incredibly well in training, then he will be like any other player and the coach will put together the team he thinks is the best. He is here to be a part of it.”

“We are delighted that he is joining but we need to be sensible and relaxed about the time he will need to do this. His English is not quite as good as some of the other players who have joined from Europe so we need to welcome him in the same way that he welcomed our opportunity.”