Enzo Le Fee reveals why Sunderland’s Championship play-off final was ‘most important game of his life’

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Sunderland’s victory over Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final was imperative for not only the club’s future, but the future of Enzo Le Fee.

Chants of “We’ve got Le Fee, Enzo Le Fee” chorused around the Stadium of Light stands after the Roma ace arrived on loan at Sunderland in January.

The Frenchman’s move, to link up with his former Lorient coach Regis Le Bris, was seen as a monumental coup for the Black Cats, given his pedigree as one of Ligue 1’s best inventive midfielders.

Le Fee’s switch from Rennes to Roma saw him struggle for game time, and Sunderland capitalised amid their Premier League promotion charge, and through that success, Le Fee has become a permanent Sunderland player.

Sunderland fans are ecstatic over Le Fee’s move being made for good due to the Championship play-off final win, and that elation is shared just as much by the Black Cats’ midfield maestro himself.

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Enzo Le Fee joins Sunderland permanently after play-off final win

Le Fee arrived on Wearside with lofty expectations from the Sunderland fanbase, given his rise to prominence in the French top flight, and those have certainly been fulfilled.

Despite injuries limiting his first months in the second tier, Le Fee made 18 Championship appearances for Sunderland, scoring his only goal with a stunning long-range effort against Luton Town.

However, it was his assist-making that proved to be the difference. Le Fee slipped Wilson Isidor in at Middlesborough in Sunderland’s 3-2 win, and would weeks later assist his countryman again, this time in the play-off semi-final first leg victory over Coventry City.

Le Fee’s third assist this season would come in the second leg, to deliver for Dan Ballard’s dramatic headed winner, which spawned scenes of carnage at the Stadium of Light and sent Sunderland to Wembley.

As a result of the obligation to buy clause in his Roma loan deal, that was to be activated in the event Sunderland won promotion, Le Fee has been playing for his, and the Black Cats’ future since his arrival.

Now, that is set in stone thanks to the play-off final win, which Le Fee has made a heartfelt admission over.

After his permanent move was officially announced, Le Fee told SAFC.com: “I said before the Play-Off Final that my heart was in Sunderland – I wanted to stay, and this made it the most important game of my life.

“Together, we did it. From the moment I arrived, I have enjoyed my football, my team-mates, and our supporters. We shared an incredible experience, and now we get to take the next step.

“There are greater challenges ahead, but we must face them together, and I can’t wait to play for Sunderland in the Premier League.”

Not only do Sunderland fans get to see Le Fee in red and white for the next four years, an unwanted record that stings the hearts of the Wearside faithful, has now thankfully been broken.

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Enzo Le Fee deal ends record Sunderland fans hated

According to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie on X, Le Fee’s deal to Sunderland is worth “around £20m”.

As such, the Frenchman becomes Sunderland’s most expensive signing in club history, knocking one of the biggest flops in Black Cats history off his perch.

Sunderland broke their transfer record ahead of their 2016/17 Premier League campaign, which ended in relegation under David Moyes, to sign midfielder Didier Ndong from Le Bris’ former club Lorient.

Gabon international Ndong, then 22-years-old, arrived for a £13.6m fee on a five-year contract, but would prove to be a disastrous signing. Ndong was sent off in his final appearance for Sunderland ahead of his loan the following season to Watford.

After a disastrous four-month loan at Watford, in which he failed to make an appearance, Ndong returned to Sunderland, who had since been relegated to the League, and expressed his desire to depart Wearside rather than play in the third tier.

Throughout the summer window, Ndong’s wage demands proved too difficult for Sunderland to shift him, and he failed to report to the club’s training ground in pre-season, which resulted in the club withholding his wages before he was sacked by Sunderland.

Ndong has since had spells at Guingamp, Dijon, Turkish club Yeni Malatyaspor on loan, and Saudi Pro League side Al-Riyadh.

Le Fee’s arrival not only condemns the Ndong saga to history, but also signifies a new chapter in the story of Sunderland, which the curtains will rise on in the upcoming Premier League season.