Ex-Sunderland and Manchester United defender Wes Brown has given his stamp of approval on the Black Cats' loan signing of Enzo Le Fee from Italian giants Roma. The 45-year-old former centre-back reckons it was a statement of intent from the club in their bid to return to the Premier League.

Automatic promotion is a real possibility for Regis Le Bris’ side and few would have expected that to be the case before the start of the campaign when the Frenchman was recruited. Sunderland have gone unbeaten at home this season in the Championship and are one of four realistic contenders for the top two automatic promotion spots along with Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley.

The Wearsiders have an 11-point margin over fifth-placed West Bromwich Albion after 29 matches and 13 points over seventh-placed Blackburn Rovers. Earlier on in this month’s window, Sunderland captured Le Fee in a deal which was said to include a mandatory purchase option worth £19.23 million in the event of promotion.

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Le Fee, who will line up against Middlesbrough next week on his 25th birthday, was previously regarded among the finest players in his position throughout Ligue 1 during stints with Rennes and Lorient. He played under Le Bris with the latter and has shown his class in the Championship thus far, making three appearances to date.

He will be expected to play an instrumental role in the remainder of the season as Sunderland try to keep up with the pace at the top. Le Fee’s arrival certainly raised eyebrows, with many left shocked at how a Championship club was able to get a deal over the line for a player as talented as the Frenchman.

Meanwhile, Brown, who made 76 appearances for Sunderland between 2011 and 2016 after arriving from Manchester United, is similarly impressed by the ambition shown from owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.

Speaking to Football League World, Brown said: “I think it is [a statement of intent]. They’re understanding of where they are in the league and especially when you’re fourth and on the doorstep of automatic promotion, I think they understand over the last few years they’ve dropped off and taken their foot off the pedal a little bit.

“This year, I think they’ve attacked it a bit more, which is the complete right way to go. It’s paying off, they need to maybe even add another one so they’ve got that depth for the remainder of the season. With the confidence they’re showing at the moment, they could get automatic promotion which I’m hoping they do.”