ENZO LE FEE instantly fell for Sunderland – and was delighted to repay their love and deliver the best early Christmas present possible.
Eyebrows were raised when the 25-year-old French winger left Roma to reunite with his former Lorient boss Regis Le Bris in the Championship last January.
He played an instrumental role in helping the Black Cats secure promotion before making his loan move permanent for £20m.
Fan favourite Le Fee has already helped Sunderland beat Chelsea and take points off Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool before capping off a fairytale first year in England by toppling bitter rivals Newcastle to move the club within two points of the top four.
He said: “We already knew it was an important game, not just for us, but for the story of this city. Our target was to win this game in front of our fans, to give this present before Christmas. It feels just unbelievable.
“I was in a bad situation in Rome, and when I came, honestly, I knew everything about this club. I knew it was a big club, because everyone knows, but when I came, I just felt I received a good welcome. After one week, I felt at home.”
Le Fee came through the youth ranks and into the first-team at Lorient with Le Bris as his mentor prior to his £20m departure for Italy in July 2024. But after struggling for starts in Serie A, he had no hesitation in swapping the Stadio Olimpico for the second tier on these shores.
He said: “I’m a football player. I don’t want to be on the bench, I want to play.
“I said to my family before I left Rome, I knew the coach and the project he proposed to me was good. So I just want to go there and help the team to be in the Premier League.
“And when I watched the series on Netflix, I said, ‘OK guys, we have to be in the Premier League.’”
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Le Fee continued: “I didn’t know it would be intense like this, but to live everything with this club, with this city, is just crazy.
“When I was in Rome, some people said: ‘Oh, you’re going to be in the Championship because you go to Sunderland.’ But what I’m living here is just crazy, and I can’t find a club like this. I’m just happy to help this team and enjoy it with the fans.
“I’ve known the [owners] for a long time. When they called me, I didn’t hesitate.
“Now we’ve got some moments together, we share some moments together, we feel more and more [at home] every week.
“We have just the start, but it’s been crazy until now. But hopefully we’re going to have more big moments.”
While Le Bris remains coy on the prospects of qualifying for Europe, Le Fee is reaching for the stars. And he believes they can overcome anybody at what is turning into a Stadium of Light fortress.
He added: “It’s not a club, it’s a city. We can feel everyone is crazy to see us. Everyone waits for the weekend to see us play, and when we play at home, we feel something different.
“We are stronger, we feel anything can happen for us, and it was the case on Sunday. Even when they pushed a bit, we felt like we were 100,000 people, and it’s crazy.”
