The quality of recruitment by Sunderland since the return to the Premier League was secured has been so outstanding that it has been difficult to keep track of the impact of the new signings.
Granit Xhaka
has brought leadership, experience, discipline, and set standards that are pushing others. Robin Roefs, Reinildo Mandava, Nordi Mukiele, and Omar Alderete are key figures in what has become a formidable defensive unit. Noah Sadiki has a tactical and positional awareness that belies his years, wrapped up in a bundle of energy and dynamism, and wingers Chemsdine Talbi, Bertrand Traoré, and Simon Adingra are providing a genuine attacking threat whilst still doing the hard yards defensively.
Add the emergence of Brian Brobbey as a striker with the physical presence to trouble the most accomplished Premier League defenders, and Lutsharel Geertruida as a utility player of the highest quality, and the embarrassment of riches that the recruitment team has provided for Sunderland v.2026 quickly becomes apparent.
And in those circumstances, it can be easy to overlook the first of the summer signings and, briefly, the subject of the club’s record transfer fee.
When the final whistle sounded at Wembley and Sunderland’s place back in the top echelon of English football was confirmed, it triggered the obligation-to-buy clause in the loan deal which had brought Enzo Le Fée to the club in January 2025.
It was a transfer which relied heavily on the relationship between the player and Régis Le Bris to persuade the mercurial midfielder to leave a difficult period at Roma for the challenge of the Championship. But it was a challenge that Le Fée embraced wholeheartedly. With a settled midfield of Jobe, Dan Neil, and Chris Rigg, he was deployed on the left wing and quickly demonstrated his quality, becoming an integral part of the successful promotion push.
Such was the influx of new talent in the summer that even the talented Le Fée found himself on the fringes as Le Bris opted for a midfield of Xhaka, Sadiki, and Habib Diarra, leaving the Frenchman competing with a clutch of newly signed wingers for a place in the team.
That changed abruptly with Diarra’s serious groin injury in September, which provided the opening for Le Fée to play in his favoured midfield berth. To say that he has seized the opportunity with both hands would be a massive understatement.
His quality has shone through – deft control, twisting and turning Premier League players at will, with the vision to deliver probing passes, he has thrived at this level. And his work-rate is immense – he chases and harries and covers and tackles.
Writing this took me back to a piece I wrote about Alex Pritchard. Under Neil and Mowbray he led the high press and was an absolute annoying pest to defenders, closing them down and forcing them to hurry. Le Fée has that same ability to never let the opposition settle – but while Pritchard’s exertions invariably led to him being withdrawn around the 70-minute mark, Le Fée can maintain his nuisance value for a full game. And his nuisance value is exceptional. He is not only a midfield maestro but a thorn in the side of opposing players. La Guêpe is French for wasp – it is a term which would suit him admirably as he buzzes around the pitch, annoying opponents!
His combative nature has really endeared him to the Stadium of Light faithful – he not only works his socks off but is a tenacious tackler who possesses a great ability to recover the ball. And when he does, he is simply a joy to watch – he can drive past players, he has the vision to bring others into play, and just occasionally he has the ability to do something simply audacious that leaves opponents chasing shadows.
There were so many outstanding performances against Manchester City that Le Fée seemed to fly somewhat under the radar on Thursday night – the superb efforts of Roefs, Mukiele, Alderete, and Geertruida to keep Haaland and company at bay rightly attracted the plaudits. But it was Le Fée who never let City’s much-vaunted midfield settle and who kept their talented engine room occupied and at times bemused. He was quite simply brilliant from start to finish, and it was no surprise to see him lying prostrate on the pitch at the final whistle, exhausted from his exertions.
I was genuinely baffled that he didn’t merit consideration for Man of the Match from any of the media.
When Habib Diarra returns from AFCON, hopefully fit and raring to go, it will present Régis Le Bris with a welcome midfield selection dilemma – to pick different combinations to provide a fresh challenge for opponents and to rotate and rest his box-to-box players.
Whether he is regarded as Le Maestro or La Guêpe, Enzo Le Fée has made it very difficult for his fellow countryman to leave him out.
