Who Is Enzo Le Fee?

Sunderland won a close and exciting match against Middlesbrough on Monday night, with the Black Cats getting a late goal thanks to Boro defender Ryan Giles. It was the first time that Sunderland have completed the double over Middlesbrough since 1962, and it was well worth the wait, as they are increasing pressure on the top three of the Championship.

Enzo Le Fee registered his first assist for the club in the game, sliding the ball into Wilson Isidor for his 10th league goal of the season, but more than that, he offered incredible quality in the heart of Sunderland’s midfield which is rarely seen in the second tier. He has now played four games for the Championship side having joined on loan last month, but who is he?

Le Fee’s Early Career

Le Fee is a boyhood Lorient fan, having been born in the city and been part of the academy from the age of eight. He made his debut with the side while they were in Ligue 2 in a 0-0 draw with Sochaux at the age of 19 and went on to play 142 times in both Ligue 2 and Ligue 1 for the club. His short build and low centre of gravity makes him extremely difficult to get off the ball as he prefers a position further forward in the midfield as a number 10 or number eight.

🇫🇷🪄 Enzo Le Fée (25) is shining for Sunderland! pic.twitter.com/1yFO9sFqBH

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 5, 2025

The only goals of his career have come when he played for Lorient or their reserve team, as he has a total of nine professional goals. He isn’t a known scorer from midfield, preferring to create opportunities for his forward line, with 21 career assists.

His Ligue 1 performances in the 2022/23 season made clubs from across Europe start to pay attention to him. AFC Bournemouth’s owner Bill Foley had acquired a minority share in Lorient during the 2022/23 season and had purchased Dango Ouattara, Lorient’s young winger, in the January transfer window. They made an approach to sign Le Fee the following summer, but he was not interested with reports suggesting that he was put off by the fact that Bournemouth would likely be in a relegation fight. He instead joined fellow Ligue 1 side Rennes.

Le Fee At Rennes & Roma

Le Fee joined Rennes off the back of them finishing fourth in the league and hoped to help their European journey. After finishing second in their group which contained Villarreal, Maccabi Haifa and Panathinaikos, they were knocked out of the competition by AC Milan in the play-offs.

He failed to make a mark in both Ligue 1 and the Europa League that season, as Rennes finished 10th and his boyhood club Lorient were relegated to Ligue 2. He played a total of 35 games for Rennes before he was shipped off to the Serie A to join Roma on a five year deal.

📝 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘: Roma have signed Enzo Le Fée from Rennes! €23m fee. 🇫🇷

(Source: @ASRomaEN) pic.twitter.com/sx26WL356w

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 10, 2024

Le Fee has only spent half a season at Roma, but that too has been disappointing, so much so that he was loaned out as soon as possible. He has made just six league appearances since joining in the summer totalling to just 312 minutes. He has already played more minutes at Sunderland since joining on the 10th of January.

Le Fee’s Sunderland Loan And Beyond

Current Sunderland boss, Regis Le Bris seeked out a loan deal with Roma for Le Fee because he had worked with him in the Lorient academy. After the game against Middlesbrough, Le Bris joked that Le Fee was playing at just 75% and said that Le Fee has the ability to play at the highest level. While it didn’t work out in the Serie A or Ligue 1, there is already evidence in Le Fee’s four games for Sunderland so far that he could be much better suited to the English game.

There is no obligation to buy in place for Sunderland, so he could return to Roma in the summer, but given his performances so far, if the Black Cats don’t get promoted, there could be a lot of Premier League teams sniffing around him.