The 'very clear' thing Regis Le Bris saw in Enzo Le Fee's first two training sessions
ENZO LE FEE is ready to make his Sunderland debut in tomorrow night’s Championship game at Burnley, with Regis Le Bris having been impressed with the way in which the midfield signing has slipped seamlessly back into his methods and principles.
Le Fee joined Sunderland on a season-long loan from Serie A side Roma last week, with the Black Cats also having agreed the terms of a club-record permanent move for the summer should they win promotion this season.
The midfielder will be part of the squad that lines up at Turf Moor tomorrow, with Sunderland guaranteed to climb into the automatic-promotion positions if they beat the side currently sitting in second spot.
Le Bris was a key figure in Le Fee’s development at his first club, Lorient, first working with the Frenchman as he progressed through the academy ranks and then assisting with his transition to the senior set-up.
Le Fee regards the Sunderland boss as something of a ‘father figure’, and with the pair’s relationship having been a major factor in his switch to Wearside, the 24-year-old has been able to hit the ground running this week.
“It (the pair’s previous relationship) makes it 100 per cent easier for him to integrate into what we are doing here,” said Le Bris, whose side will attempt to bounce back from last weekend’s FA Cup home defeat to Stoke City when they return to league action at Turf Moor.
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“It was one of the first things we thought about when we first connected with Enzo. It wasn’t easy to think about getting an agreement from a player who is playing with Roma. It is difficult to connect with someone like that when, even though Sunderland is a massive club, we are playing in the second division in England.
“But he wanted to play and enjoy himself, and he wanted to rediscover the link between his football and enjoyment. We have a shared knowledge of the game, and a shared history, so we talked together and thought it was a good idea.
“We have only had two or three training sessions back together, but it is already very clear that he understands what we are doing here. It is very clear for him because he played with these principles and these ideas for seven or eight years at Lorient. That means it is easy for him to understand what we are doing.”
Le Fee boasts a considerable pedigree, having been heavily linked with both Liverpool and Arsenal during his time at Lorient, when he was the third-highest chance creator in the whole of Ligue 1 in his breakthrough campaign.
Sunderland’s loan agreement is widely regarded as a major coup, but that is still no guarantee that the midfielder will walk straight into the starting line-up.
Dan Neil, Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham have played together for most of the season, forming what has generally been acknowledged to be the best midfield unit in the Championship, so Le Bris accepts he will have to make some tough decisions in the next few weeks.
“First of all, he (Le Fee) is ready to play,” said the Sunderland boss. “Sometimes, this is not possible when you sign a player because they have not played a lot or they are injured, but Enzo is really fit.
“But at the same time, we have to respect the legacy. A new player can come in and say, 'I'm here to change everything'. Here, it is not possible because the identity of the team is very strong, the quality is important and he has to make the steps to connect with the team.
“It depends on many things, the game, the scenario, the players available and so on. He is ready and at the same he has to connect with the team, so we will see for Friday.”
