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Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee has returned to Sunderland action in recent weeks, and fans have put all of their Championship play-off prospects down to him.
Sunderland have guaranteed their spot in the 2024/25 Championship play-offs recently after their 0-0 draw against Norwich.
Days after their fate was made certain, Regis Le Bris’ side were beaten 1-0 at home against Swansea City in which the Black Cats’ current state of league table purgatory was mirrored in their performance.
Sunderland fans bemoaned Wilson Isidor’s performance against Alan Sheehan’s side, but he was one of many who failed to impress as their regular season curtails.
One Black Cats star who was a bright spark against the Swans was Roma loanee Enzo Le Fee, and Sunderland fans are all in agreement about how important he will be for them during the Championship run-in after his cameo appearance.
Sunderland fans in agreement after Enzo Le Fee’s cameo vs Swansea City
Roma loanee Le Fee was introduced on the hour-mark against Swansea – with Le Bris carefully managing his return to action – following his several-week spell on the sidelines hampering his gametime.
The former Rennes ace has produced some moments of pure magic since his January arrival on Wearside, namely after tearing apart Middlesbrough full-back Luke Ayling in his side’s dramatic 3-2 Riverside victory.
On Saturday, Le Fee was the only creative spark Sunderland had to offer despite only playing 31 minutes due to his recent return from injury.
The Black Cats’ lack of creativity currently is a concern, with Le Bris admitting after the game Sunderland ‘struggled’ to carve Swansea open.
Despite his second-half introduction, the French maestro yielded a 91% passing accuracy, played three passes into the final third and created one chance as his side searched for an equaliser.
With the play-off campaign looming amid Le Fee’s timely return to action, Sunderland fans took to social media to share their thoughts on his performance.
One fan said: “He’s good and very creative”, as another added: “He is the best CM player we have and clearly most creative.”
A fellow fan said: “The man is an absolute joy to watch and the second he came on on Saturday we looked 10x better”, and another agreed: “Levels above our whole midfield by about 100x”.
One fan even went as far as to pin Sunderland’s promotion hopes on the attacking midfielder. They said: “Our only hope off promotion If he turns up we have a chance.”
Enzo Le Fee can turn Premier League promotion tide in Sunderland’s favour
When Le Fee arrived from Italian giants Roma, Sunderland were still rooted to the fourth-spot they still occupy, but were only four points adrift of then-leaders Sheffield United.
Given the Frenchman’s footballing pedigree, after rivaling the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi for attacking output during his time in Ligue 1, his signing was widely-regarded as one of the biggest coups in Championship history.
Unfortunately, for the Black Cats his time in Sunderland stripes has been limited to just eight starts given his injury setback suffered against Hull. In a double blow for Le Bris, he has been forced to use Le Fee in an unfavoured left-wing role given injury blows to Romaine Mundle and Tommy Watson.
| Key statistic | Enzo Le Fee for Sunderland |
| Games played | 11 (8 starts) |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Chances created | 14 |
Brighton-bound Watson is back in the Sunderland mix now, meaning Le Fee can finally feature for the Black Cats in the heart of their midfield, as he has done in the recent cameos against Swansea and Norwich.
Sunderland’s season has stuttered of late with their play-off place guaranteed at the same time automatic promotion hopes are seemingly out of reach.
As the Black Cats faithful have admitted, with Le Bris’ side scoring only twice in their last five outings, the onus is on the Frenchman to inject some dynamism back into his dwindling squad.
Creator-in-chief Le Fee must be the defibrillating presence needed to shock Sunderland’s season back to life ahead of the season-defining play-off campaign.