Why Sunderland want to pay £25m to sign an Enzo Le Fee-like player

Sunderland have only made one senior addition to their first-team squad since the summer transfer window officially opened for business in June.

Despite qualifying for the Europa League and needing a deeper squad to deal with the added matches, Thomas Meunier is the only signing the Black Cats have made.

Regis Le Bris and the recruitment team must continue to put the work in to bring in new players to ensure that there are enough options in the squad to cover both the Premier League and the Europa League.

Sunderland also need to add specific qualities to the group after they only scored 42 times in 38 matches on their way to finishing seventh in the top-flight.

Why Sunderland must sign more players like Enzo Le Fee

The club, understandably, went heavy on bringing in physical players who could cope with the physicality and intensity of the Premier League, notably Granit Xhaka, Brian Brobbey, Omar Alderete, and Nordi Mukiele.

What that meant, though, was that the team sometimes lacked craft and guile because of a lack of technical quality across the pitch, which is a concern moving forward if the defence does not stay at a high level.

Enzo Le Fee was one of the fewer players who joined the Black Cats last summer as an out-and-out technical player who was not signed for his physical prowess.

The French attacking midfielder lost more than half of his physical duels in the Premier League, but he made up for that with a return of five goals and six assists, whilst he also scored once in three FA Cup appearances.

Sunderland must now be looking to bring in more players like Le Fee, who offer technical quality rather than mainly physicality, so that they can elevate their attack and complement the physical players that they already have.

Sunderland agree terms with star who is Le Fee-like

The latest talent to be linked with a move to the Stadium of Light this summer suggests that the club are looking to add more tehcnical players to the squad.

RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins reports that Sunderland are in talks to secure a deal for Toulouse left-back Dayann Methalie before the end of the window.

The reporter claims that the Black Cats have already finalised personal terms with the 20-year-old defender, who will put pen to paper on a five-year contract if he moves to Wearside.

Hawkins adds, though, that the two clubs are still in talks about a transfer fee for the French youngster, as Toulouse are looking for a fee of around £25m for their prized asset.

Whilst Methalie is not an attacking midfielder, the France U21 international is similar to Le Fee because he is not particularly strong or effective in duels, but he offers quality and dynamism in possession.

The £25m-rated star lost 60% of his duels in Ligue 1 for Toulouse in the 2025/26 campaign, which shows that he is not currently dominant in duels, and that is an area for him to work on.

His attacking work, however, caught the eye. The 20-year-old whiz ranked highly among his positional peers when it came to dribbling past opponents, getting into the box, and creating chances for his teammates.

Reinildo started 23 matches at left-back for Sunderland in the Premier League last season and he only completed 15 dribbles and did not create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates.

The Mozambique international did, though, win 55% of his ground duels and 55% of his aerial battles in the division, showing that he is the opposite style of left-back to the attack-minded Methalie.

Signing the Toulouse youngster would, therefore, provide Le Bris with two very different profiles at left-back, which would allow him to be versatile in the way that Sunderland set up against different opponents in that position.

Methalie would be an exciting addition to the squad, as Le Fee was last year, because of the dynamism and attack-minded mentality that he would bring to the pitch, darting forward from left-back to support the attack.

That is why the Black Cats should meet the £25m valuation that Toulouse have of the defender to ensure that they can get a deal over the line in the coming days.