Sunderland's place in the Championship play-offs this season could be a unique opportunity to accelerate their rebuild, says boss Tony Mowbray.
The Black Cats only ended four seasons in League One with play-off victory last season, following back-to-back relegations from the Premier League.
Top-flight promotion could be worth about £90m - a huge financial boost - and a return after six seasons away.
"It's never too soon to get to the Premier League," Mowbray said.
"It has the riches to build your club faster. So even if you go up and come down you have greater resource and much greater parachute payments to keep bringing in better players.