Régis Le Bris reacts as Sunderland begin summer transfer window with potential club-record deal

Sunderland will conclude the first transfer deal of the summer transfer window as promotion triggers an automatic purchase clause in Enzo Le Fée’s loan from AS Roma.

The deal could reach in the region of £20 million over the coming years and could become the club’s record transfer, surpassing the fee paid to sign Didier Ndong. Sunderland have a huge amount of work to do in order to build a squad capable of competing in the Premier League but the signing of Le Fée is a positive start.

Head coach Régis Le Bris reacted to the news by paying tribute to how Le Fée has adapted to life at Sunderland, often playing out of position for the good of the team.

“First of all, he has been a strong team mate,” Le Bris said.

“This is what I want to reiterate. He started as a left winger, playing most of the time in position. When we had the opportunity to play with Romaine again, it was a chance to play Enzo in his main position. Because they have not had much experience together, their references were probably not very clean. We felt that our connection in midfield was not perfect in this game, but we felt that the experience of playing was useful later in the game. It proved to be the case.”

What Régis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s stunning win

“It's a fantastic scenario for us, again,” Le Bris said.

“Like the semi final, just absolutely fantastic. Tough for the coaches and fans probably but again we showed strong character. Even when we were not dominant, even when we have struggled as a squad - we stay connected and stick to our plan. Then later in the game, you feel that maybe can change the momentum. This was the case today.

“We lost Luke early, and a substitution too. At the same time, I was comfortable to make this sub because we knew Meps was ready. He has been really impressive this season, as a player but also as a person and as a pro. When he came out of the team ahead of the semi finals, he told me, 'I will stay connected with the group, don't worry'. He showed today that this behaviour was really important for the squad. We switched him with Ballard because they targeted this side with Kieffer Moore, so we managed this.”

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