It is some way to answer any lingering questions around Sunderland‘s promotion intentions.
A club that has been recalibrated around the recruitment of players with glittering promise are on the brink of agreeing one of the most significant transfer deals in their history.
Sources in Italy say an agreement has been brokered with AS Roma to sign midfield playmaker Enzo Le Fee – initially on loan but with an obligation to buy for around £19.5m if they achieve promotion.
The fee would eclipse Sunderland’s transfer record by some distance.
It represents a serious statement of intent from the Black Cats, who sit fourth in the Championship and have reacted to the feeling internally that they have a real opportunity to achieve a game-changing promotion this season.
Owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has plotted a strategic path at the Stadium of Light since the club returned to the Premier League.
There have been mistakes but also measured investment, following a plan that has stocked their squad with some of the most promising players outside of the top flight.
But what was really required was a signing of conviction and this appears to be it.
Le Fee – whose nickname is “The Fairy” on account of the magic he can do with the ball – is 24 and at something of a crossroads in his career.
Roma hasn’t worked out – although there is mitigation for that – and a season at Rennes was only a qualified success.
But he is regarded as a huge talent and sources The i Paper spoke to were surprised there was no Premier League interest in a player who has chosen to reunite with Sunderland’s impressive manager Regis Le Bris, whose tactical acumen, attacking strategy and measured approach have enabled the Black Cats’ young squad to flourish.
“It reminds me of when Ruben Neves signed for Wolves in the Championship. It can be that big if he settles,” one source said.
It represents two things for Sunderland: a show of faith in Le Bris, who has a personal relationship with Le Fee that has persuaded him to drop down from Serie A, and also a significant strengthening of a squad that will benefit from an injection of attacking quality.
Chris Rigg has been outstanding this season but Le Fee can share the creative midfield load with the 17-year-old, who has shown signs of fatigue in recent weeks.
The financials of the deal – while considerable – also work for the Black Cats.
Sunderland, for their part, are gambling that he can slot into the Championship mid-season – with its physical demands – and benefit from a run of opportunities.
Given injuries disrupted him at Rennes and Roma, it is not a given but his undeniable talent makes it a calculated risk with significant upside for Sunderland.
Analysis notes his penchant for recovery tackles at Rennes, a sign that when at his all-action best he can set the tone for a team.
“His choice is surprising here at Rennes,” Thomas Rassouli, a writer for Stade Rennais Online, tells The i Paper.
“He left us because he fell out with the coach and for a better opportunity to play European football.
“I guess his choice is motivated by Regis Le Bris.”
Journalist Andy Mattioli of Roma Press tells The i Paper there is also surprise at his destination in Italy.
“No one expected him to go to the Championship in England,” he says. “He has all the tools to play at the highest level but he needs the right situation.
“This is a guy who has a lot to offer. He’s young, he’s technical and in the moments where he did play for us and was picking up confidence you could see he was having fun being the mediator between defence and the attack. His best quality is to get the ball and to run with it – being the guy who sets the rhythm and gets them into a position to score.
“He can do well if he’s consistently utilised. He’s not a player to come off the bench or have stop-start chances in the team. He needs to play.”
His struggles in the Eternal City were not, perhaps, his fault.
Mattioli believes they were more a symptom of Roma’s mismanagement over the last 12 months.
“It’s a bizarre situation. Le Fee came in and it looked like exactly the sort of player we were looking for, a good technical midfield player,” he said.
“What we wanted was someone who could be the link between the midfield and attack and he looked perfect.
“But unfortunately he couldn’t settle in, he got hurt in his second appearance for Roma which kept him out for a month and when he came back in under Ivan Juric it didn’t really work. He never played badly but when he played we lost. He came through at the moment the team wasn’t playing well but it wasn’t his fault.
“And when Claudio Ranieri came in he was sat on the bench. Roma can’t have an asset of 23m Euros sitting on the bench.”
Roma regard the deal as a “win-win”, enabling the club to make their money back on a significant financial outlay if Sunderland get promoted.
It would be some story if that happened, given Le Fee’s journey to become a professional footballer has seen him overcome the tragedy of losing his father Jeremy six years ago.
Le Fee has spoken bravely and in detail about visiting him in prison, his suicide in 2021 and his motivation to play football to escape the life his father led.
Jeremy was a once promising footballer himself but his life spiralled when he was released by Rennes at 15, with alcohol and drug problems resulting in several stints in prison.
Le Fee was close to his father, who in turn worshipped him but could not shake off his demons. Le Fee trained the day after his father’s death, a sign of what friends call his “inner steel”.
“My therapy is football,” he told French football website SoFoot back in 2023. “I calmed down around 16 or 17 but since the death of my father I have moved on to a new philosophy of life.
“I’m disgusted when I see family members or people arguing with each other. I try to avoid conflict, I have become a different person.”
Throughout those days there was a constant and that was Le Bris, considered a mentor but also a friend by the Le Fee family. When he was breaking into Lorient’s first team the manager compared him to Matteo Guendouzi, who has gone on to represent France and has a similar determination to win at all costs.
Those close to him believe he can be better and under a manager who believes in him, can return to the days when he was linked with Arsenal and Liverpool.
If that happens, it may go down as one of Sunderland’s best ever pieces of transfer business.
from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/OCamx7k
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