Le Bris has spoken glowingly of the ‘triangle’ he has developed down Sunderland’s right-hand side, with Trai Hume having linked up effectively with Patrick Roberts and Chris Rigg prior to his switch to the left-hand side of the back four.
On the opposite flank, Dennis Cirkin was beginning to develop an effective relationship with Romaine Mundle before the pair both suffered injury issues, and while the latter is unlikely to return before the end of the season, the former should be back in the squad for the Easter Monday home game with Blackburn Rovers.
While Dan Neil has dovetailed effectively with Jobe Bellingham at the base of Sunderland’s midfield for much of the season, the Black Cats have spent most of the campaign playing without a natural ‘number ten’.
That could be about to change with Le Fee expected to start either tomorrow’s game at Bristol City or Monday’s home meeting with Blackburn, and Le Bris is hoping the Roma loanee will quickly strike up an effective relationship with the players around him in the final third.
“We were really good with our triangles down the wide sides through the season, but we probably haven’t developed so much this one in the midfield,” said the Sunderland boss. “This would be a good option in the future.
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“So, for these last few games it will be important to develop this midfield triangle and then for the play-offs, we will have to make choices – the best option for the first game, the second game and then hopefully the third game.
“If we have more flexibility, more options, we are going to be in a better place. So, we will develop this and then make the choice.”
Le Bris worked with Le Fee during the pair’s time together at Lorient, and was one of the key figures pushing to sign the French midfielder when it became clear Roma were willing to let him leave in the January window.
The way in which Le Bris has set up his Sunderland side to play closely mirrors the way in which Lorient were organised under his stewardship, something that should help Le Fee slip into a new central-midfield role without too much trouble.
“Enzo is very versatile and he knows the system,” said Le Bris. “With a new squad, I started with a much smaller degree of freedom because you have to experience the different positions and situations.
“Later, when you have built this experience, you can open a bit more freedom with the same background. Enzo played in this system for ten years, so it is really natural for him.”
