Two Lorient youngster will be on opposing sides in a crucial promotion clash - with their old academy boss watching on

Two childhood friends and team mates will find themselves on opposing sides at Elland Road, while one of the coaches who did much to oversee their development watches on from the dugout.

Monday night's crunch clash in the Championship promotion race between Sunderland and Leeds United will see former Lorient youngsters Enzo Le Fée and Ilan Meslier face off, with their former academy boss Régis Le Bris in charge of the Black Cats.

Régis Le Bris worked with both during their time in the academy, and would then go on to manage Le Fée at senior level.

It adds an intriguing subplot to an already mouthwatering clash and though Le Bris insists he was just a minor part in their development, their careers nevertheless remain a source of pride for the Sunderland boss.

“They were in the same year when they were coming through at Lorient," Le Bris said.

"They played in the same youth team when I was the coach. They both stood out from a very early age. I always knew they had a good chance of doing very well, although there were different dynamics for each of them. Ilan wasn’t so tall when he was young, so his real development probably came a bit later when he was 16 or 17 years old. He discovered his real potential around 17 or 18. Enzo was really talented when he was very young, but then after that, he had a period where he struggled a bit with injuries. His body wasn’t really physically mature between the period of 17 and 18. After that, though, he became the player he is now. So, although they were together, they had different dynamics and a different pathway. But by the time they had turned 18 or 19, it was clear they both had a lot of potential.

“We supported Enzo when he was having his injury problems," Le Bris added.

"He was really well connected to the club, it was like a family for him. He was always around, and people were always around him. He was always going to get the time he needed to recover from injury and let his body mature. At a club like Lorient, or one of the other smaller clubs in France, when you have two or three talents, you take care of them. They are very important.

"Other clubs tried to sign Enzo. A lot. But I think he probably felt that the atmosphere we created was very positive for him. He is from Lorient and that probably also helped. It made it very easy for him to stay.

“Sometimes, when I watch players I have worked with in some of their games, I can be happy to see their development and how they are doing in their career. For me, though, it was a short period with them. Before me, they had many experiences, and then after me, they had many experiences too. It was just a part of the process. In the youth academy, you can manage different players, and then after that, you can be proud when they have success in their career."

While Le Bris could see both had a huge amount of talent from the earliest days of his time in the academy, he says you can never be truly sure which players will make it to the top. That's why opportunity is so key, something that his current club have demonstrated of late.

“It is a long journey - at the end of the process, many people can say it was obvious that a certain player would make it, but before, it is never that obvious," he said.

"If you look at our team this season, you can say now that we have a very good team, but when we started, it wasn’t really the case. With young players, it is often like that too. It is often about when they can get their opportunity. That is when you really see. Before that, you can still have many doubts. But when they are on the pitch, that is when you can say, ‘Ah yes, it is clear, they can play’. It is a question of opportunities, and the environment that you create around them, to support them and help them learn from their mistakes. It is about showing them that you believe they can succeed, believe they can manage different situations and believe that they can express their talent.

“We are just a part of the process. I am happy for them, and happy for the club, for Lorient, because it shows that the environment we created together was very positive. At the end, it is their career. I am like a fan at the moment."

Whoever comes out on top on Monday night will go a long way to helping their current team achieve their promotion ambitions.

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