Transfer gossip: Sunderland handed boost in pursuit of £20m-rated Serie A midfielder - reports
Sunderland may have just been handed a boost in their pursuit of the highly-rated French midfielder
Sunderland may have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Roma midfielder Enzo Le Fée.
The Frenchman, who worked with Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris at Lorient, is currently out of favour at Roma under the current regime. Le Fee joined Roma from Rennes in July for a fee in the region of €23million, which works out at around £20million.
However, after going through three different coaches within the first six months of his time in Rome, Le Feé has reportedly already fallen out of favour and is unlikely to be kept on by current boss Claudio Ranieri during the transfer window.
Reports in Italy have claimed that Sunderland have made an enquiry regarding the 24-year-old. Italian transfer insider Matteo Moretto posted 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. Betis had contact with his entourage but an official offer was never presented to Roma.”
However, following that initial story late on Sunday evening, another update has been shared with one outlet suggesting that talks between Betis and Roma over Le Fée have now stalled. La Parisien journalist Benjamin Quarez claimed on social media: “This shouldn't happen for Enzo Le Fée at Betis. The talks did not go any further with Roma.”
La Parisien’s online report adds: “The Spanish club had expressed serious interest in the 24-year-old French midfielder. Talks even seemed well underway midweek, but a series of changes ended up reversing the trend.
“Betis have reportedly decided to review their intentions on the market by asking for more time to conclude the deal. While discussions were supposed to be initiated to finalise the operation in the form of a loan with an option to buy with AS Roma, the clubs were ultimately never in a position to conclude the agreement.
“Recruited by Roma last summer for €23million, Enzo Le Fée has been lacking playing time since Claudio Ranieri's arrival on the bench. During the Roman derby, this Sunday evening, he has not yet played a single minute. His situation is being observed by other clubs, including Sunderland, in the Championship, where Le Fée's former coach at Lorient, Régis Le Bris, would like to recruit him this winter.”