Everything Sunderland fans need to know about Enzo Le Fée and where potential transfer stands

Sunderland continue to be linked with a move for Enzo Le Fée, with multiple sources indicating that a potential move has progressed in the early stages of this week.

Here's everything Sunderland fans need to know about Le Fée and what happens next...

Who is Enzo Le Fée and why is he available this window?

Le Fée is a 24-year-old French midfielder who currently plays for AS Roma. He is very well known to Régis Le Bris, who oversaw his rise to Lorient's senior team when the pair were both in the club's academy set up. Le Fée would then go on to a pivotal player in the Lorient side that surpassed all expectations in Le Bris's first season as senior boss, before joining Rennes at the end of his contract.

AS Roma then paid a sum believed to be in the region of £20 million to sign Le Fée last summer, with the midfielder signing a five-year contract in the process. However, he has struggled to force his way into the side and crucially, his playing time has reduced further since Claudio Ranieri was appointed caretaker boss in November. Roma are well stocked in central midfield and appear to be open to letting Le Fée depart in search of regular minutes this month.

What do we know about where Sunderland's interest currently stands?

Sunderland enquired about Le Fée though sources on Wearside initially cautioned that a deal would be challenging to strike.

However, multiple sources in Italy on Tuesday night reported that Sunderland had moved to the front of the queue with the player himself now open to the idea of the move to Wearside. Clearly, the influence of Le Bris has the potential to be a key factor.

As such the move looks more likely than when negotiations first began, though sources have said that the no deal has been agreed/finalised at this stage. That Sunderland are firmly in the race has not been disputed, however. Other clubs remain interested, with Lille heavily linked: they currently sit fourth in Ligue 1.

What might a potential transfer deal look like?

At this stage, Sunderland are deemed highly unlikely to be able to strike a permanent transfer deal. If Le Fée was to sign this month it would initially be on loan, with a mechanism to potentially make the deal permanent in the summer included. This could be in the form of an option clause or an obligation if Sunderland were to win promotion, though the former is more likely.

What has Régis Le Bris said about Sunderland's transfer plans?

While Salis Abdul Samed, Chris Rigg and Alan Browne are close to returning from injury, Le Bris has made clear that he wants more depth in central midfield for the closing months of the Championship campaign.

"Probably at the minute we only have two midfielders available at that [top Championship, level," Le Bris said.

"We can develop other players like Milan, who is a very good player, but he needs time to develop at that level. So we still have an eye on this part of the pitch."