Sunderland announced a new long-term contract for Enzo Le Fée earlier this week

Régis Le Bris believes there is more to come from Enzo Le Fée after the midfielder signed a new five-year deal at the club.

Le Fée has been rewarded for his superb performances since the club's return to the Premier League, now firmly established as the team's creative heartbeat in his favoured central position. While the Frenchman has shown his superb talent on a consistent basis, his head coach says it is his attitude that is the key to his success and believes his willingness to keep learning means he is not yet at his peak as a Premier League player.

"Enzo wants to learn, so at that point, you know there's room for improvement if you want to improve your game and be the leader of the process," Le Bris said.

"In past experiences, he experienced doubt when missing a penalty and not playing well, so you have to bounce back. He showed he is able to do that. When you get confidence, you can explore different areas. Our midfielders are still in a place where they have many areas to explore or improve to be more dominant depending on the evolution of opponents, because the Premier League is like that. You find a way, and two games later opponents find a new solution to block the midfielders. This part of the squad is really important, and they are still in this process."

Le Bris has forged a close relationship with the 26-year-old since their time together in the academy at FC Lorient, and that was the key reason why he was happy to drop into the Championship initially on loan from AS Roma. Le Bris says that close connection is helpful for both as they move into the next chapter of their story at Sunderland.

Le Bris said: "There was one chance out of 100 [of signing him], I think! But the connection made the difference. When you trust people... from his side he trusted me and on the other side, when he missed the penalty, I trusted him. So it's just the connection we have. With Enzo, we have the past and don't need to speak often, so it's an advantage, but with others I try to create connections as well."

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

While Le Fée's talent was never in question, which is in part why Le Bris and Lorient stuck by him during a serious injury as a youngster, Le Bris says his attitude has been key to his progress. Le Bris is proud to have witnessed the development of a player who he has worked so closely with but was equally quick to stress that the praise is owed to the player himself.

"When a player has the ability to go really high, the question is consistency," Le Bris said.

"My job is to create the conditions for consistency. It's hard to create talent, but when you have those highs, it's possible to develop the other side. It's really positive, but I'm just part of the process, to be fair. It's obviously his role, involvement, and quality to enjoy the moment."

Your next Sunderland read: Why Sunderland's contract reveal is as important as any signing they made this summer