Sunderland transfer 'target' Enzo Le Fée may have already dropped hint over future
Sunderland have been linked with a January swoop for the French midfielder.
Reported Sunderland target Enzo Le Fée may already have dropped a hint over his willingness to potentially leave current club AS Roma in the future.
The 24-year-old has emerged as an apparent option for the Black Cats in recent days, with Italian transfer insider Matteo Moretto stating on social media: “Sunderland have enquired about Enzo Le Fée. It is an explicit request from the coach, Régis Le Bris, who worked with the French midfielder at Lorient. [Real] Betis had contact with his entourage but an official offer was never presented to Roma.”
Since then, La Parisien journalist Benjamin Quarez has seemingly quashed talk of Betis’ efforts to sign the player, adding: ”This shouldn't happen for Enzo Le Fée at Betis. The talks did not go any further with Roma.”
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For his part, Le Fée only joined Roma in July, commanding a fee of around £20million, but in an interview late last year, he admitted that he had not been actively seeking an exit from former club Stade Rennais when his Italian transfer came about.
Speaking in an interview with the Free Foot YouTube channel, Le Fée said: “This summer I actually didn’t really have any intention of changing teams, I was happy at Rennes, even if I had a bit of difficulty feeling at home. “This is because already at the start of last season, with Bruno Genesio, things didn’t go as planned and because I felt I needed a period of adaptation. After he was fired, I was starting to find my football again and integrating well and Julien Stéphan arrived.
“With him I started to play well but, unfortunately, in the Coupe de France I got injured and that slowed me down. I came back towards the end of the season, but without feeling at home and without receiving the affection of the fans and that bothered me. So this summer I took the trouble to leave Rennes. We then received a call from Florent Ghisolfi who had the opportunity to bring me to Roma.”
Le Fée went on to state that he feels comfortable in Rome, but has also suggested that he has found it difficult to adapt to the rigours of the climate. He added: “Roma? When I entered the dressing room I don’t know if they knew me, I don’t think so, but they acted as if we had always known each other and this helps to put you at ease. The first week everything went well, but in the following weeks I struggled because of the heat, I’m a person who likes to run, but the athletic preparation in Italy was difficult.”
Despite those initial challenges, however, Le Fée has spoken fondly of Roma as a club, and in particular, the passion of their fanbase. He added: “What impressed me most was the number of people who work inside this club, there are more people in the staff than players and this shocked me. The training facilities are also incredible, although the best part is the crowd.”
“In Rennes or Lorient only a few people recognised me, here almost everyone. The fans experience the club intensely and this makes you understand the leap forward. The first time at the Stadio Olimpico unfortunately I didn’t start. As soon as we entered the field and passed in front of the fans I had shivers, you have the impression of entering an arena. Then I entered the field, I played 15 minutes and I got hurt.”
Indeed, that injury setback at the end of August has set the tone for a frustrating debut campaign in Italy, with Le Fée having registered just 319 minutes of action across six league outings. It is within this context that talk of a potential exit to reignite his momentum has been sparked, and to that end, the player himself has previously made noises about his willingness to be proactive in his career.
Speaking after his exit from Lorient in 2023, he said: “I never wanted to leave Lorient by the back door. We have had a great season and I know that these coming months will be important if I want to go to a big club. As I have a very collective profile, I know that if I play well, the team plays well.
“I want to really step up a level and I’m trying to put everything in place to be prepared if it happens. I am someone who likes challenges, and risks as well. I want to show that I’m capable of playing at the highest level.”