With Enzo Le Fee now on Wearside, we needed to find out some more information about this exciting French midfielder. Who better to speak to than Sky Sports' European Football expert and Sunderland fan, Dougie Critchley?
So, Enzo Le Fee. You’ve known about this guy far longer than any of us - what’s been the overarching story of his career so far?
Enzo Le Fee has a really unique backstory. Born in a small village near Lorient, he grew up in a football mad household. It soon became clear he was a unique talent and was snapped up by Lorient at the age of eight. So far, so normal… but what a lot of people don’t know is that his family situation was far from ideal. His father was imprisoned on two occasions for domestic violence and drug dealing when he was growing up, and Enzo used to skip training when at Lorient to visit him in prison. Unfortunately his father then committed suicide in 2021, whilst Le Fee was still at Lorient.
On the pitch though, Le Fee’s progress, at least initially, was seamless. He made his debut at 18 in Ligue 2, but he was very much a part player as Les Merlus secured promotion back to Ligue 1 after a three year absence. Then, over the next four seasons he played a key role as Lorient established themselves in the French top tier, with his performances earning him recognition from France’s age group sides, even representing Les Bleus at the 2021 Olympics. Unfortunately the last few years haven’t been as easy for Le Fee.
Roma paid a reported €23m for Enzo in July 2024, how come they’re already willing to let him go?
Roma, under the Friedkin Group (Everton’s new owners) have been a bit of a mess to say the least. Onto their 4th manager since the start of last season, a number of coaches have suffered under a confused and muddled transfer strategy and the summer of 2024 was no different.
Le Fee arrived for 23m, a year on from also signing for Rennes for 20m, and big things were expected of him. But Roma, as has been their recent way, didn’t give him the best opportunity to succeed. They signed Manu Kone on loan from Gladbach a few weeks later, meaning they now had Pellegrini, Cristante, Paredes and the highly rated Baldanzi on their books, not to mention Paulo Dybala further forward! In short, they didn’t really need Le Fee, and with the young Frenchman attempting to adapt to a new country, culture and club, opportunities were few and far between.
Onto their 3rd manager of the season, Claudio Ranieri has attempted to shore them up defensively and simplify their football. An enigmatic creator, they believed Le Fee would be better served playing regularly, so they decided to sanction his departure on loan.
So it’s safe to say things haven’t gone to plan in Italy for ELF. However, what were some of his biggest strengths when he was thriving in France?
It’s worth noting that Le Fee hasn’t just had a difficult six months, he struggled last year at Rennes. Signed from Lorient, he was the club’s marquee arrival in a summer that saw a huge amount of quality leave the club. Doku, Ugochukwu, Majer, Bade, Guirassy, Matic all departed that summer, the club had a truly forgettable season and Le Fee was forced to miss 13 games with injury.
That’s the negative stuff out the way… why have Sunderland signed Le Fee?
In short, it's because of his magnificent two seasons under Regis Le Bris at Lorient, particularly the 22/23 campaign. Le Fee contributed five goals and five assists in 35 Ligue 1 games. His 0.2 expected assists per 90 (basically meaning he “should” provide an assist every 5 games) was only 0.03 less than Kylian Mbappe. He ranked 6th in the division for chances created in France, whilst his 10th place ranking for defensive actions showed there was plenty of bite to go with the beauty.
Factor in that this was for a Lorient side that had fought relegation for the previous two seasons, leading them to 10th, whilst contributing goals in games against PSG, Lyon, Nice, Monaco and Rennes, and Le Fee was marked out as a player with enormous potential.
Will he play in the ‘Dan Neil’ role, as the deepest midfielder? Or will he occupy one of Chris Rigg or Jobe Bellingham’s positions further up the pitch?
I can only emphasise that this is my gut feeling… but I can’t help thinking that with the way Neil and Bellingham are playing this season, Le Bris will be reluctant to break up that duo.
Chris Rigg is a sensational footballer and is obviously having a brilliant season. But he’s also 17! He ranks 7th in the squad for minutes played for Sunderland this season, and I’d like to see him protected with a little bit more rotation.
I think there’s a decent chance that Le Fee is used further forward, in front of Bellingham and Neil. Rigg could also be rotated with Roberts, who for all his brilliant dribbling and creative flair has struggled in front of goal this season.
Sunderland rank 3rd for shots p/game this season in the Championship, but only 9th for expected goals. We need to create higher quality chances for the likes of Wilson Isidor, and Le Fee could be crucial to that.
Do you think his arrival maybe hints at a Jobe/Rigg exit? Surely Enzo hasn’t come here to sit on the bench!
There’s always a possibility. And there’s a lot of noise around Bellingham in particular. My gut feeling - and I always say “never say never” - is that we’ll keep hold of both this month, and Bellingham will likely leave this summer, no matter which league we are in. Rigg I feel shouldn’t rush and another year on Wearside, even if we are in the Championship, would do his long-term future good. Especially given he’s unlikely to play regularly at the calibre of club he’s been linked with.
He’s still only 24 - what would you say his current level is, and how high is his ceiling?
At his best, he was one of, if not the outstanding midfielder in France. Vision, ability to turn in tight spaces, footwork, numerous gorgeously-executed free kicks. It's really not an exaggeration to say Le Fee showed it all.
There’s no doubt we are signing someone relatively low on confidence, but under the stewardship of Le Bris, I don’t see any reason why he can’t instantly look like one of the best midfielders in the Championship.
In simple terms he’s cost £35m in transfer fees in the last two summers. Sunderland have spent £25m in total since being relegated from the Premier League in 2017. We haven’t had a player this talented on our books for a long, long time.
How’s his fitness record?
Frustratingly for him, his recent record isn’t great. Having not missed a single game with injury in his first five years of professional football, he sat out 13 in his only season with Rennes and missed six games with Roma in the first half of 24/25. But in short, he doesn’t have a history of repeat injuries.
And his attitude?
In his 208 games as a professional, he’s never been issued a single red card. I’ve never heard anything negative about his attitude.
How do you reckon he’ll cope with the rigours of the English Championship?
5ft 7, and often compared to Xavi and Iniesta… I don’t think that description is particularly apt! Yes, he’s slight and has a low centre of gravity. Yes, he’s excellent at retaining and distributing possession in tight areas. However, this guy does not shirk his defensive duties.
In his final season in Lorient he averaged 4.2 defensive actions (tackles or interceptions) p/90. For context Dennis Cirkin leads the way for Sunderland this season with 4.8, whilst Dan Neil averages 3.3.
Not only that but he showed his determination to put his body on the line, with 50 blocks, 3rd amongst midfielders in France.
Finally, Regis Le Bris managed to get the very best out of Le Fee at Lorient - are you confident he can replicate this at Sunderland?
In a word… yes!
