Sunderland fans will be enjoying how January is playing out at the moment with their promotion-chasing side two wins from two in the Championship.
Moreover, there haven’t been any unsettling departures yet as the mid-way point of the month is reached, with one standout incoming instead further upping the high spirits on Wearside.
Regis Le Bris was able to flex his past connections to get the coup loan signing of Enzo Le Fee over the line recently, with the Frenchman’s addition until the end of the season no doubt boosting the Black Cats’ promotion chances.
Why Le Fee is a statement signing
The former Lorient manager would have been overjoyed to snap up his ex-midfielder this January, with Le Fee costing his parent employers AS Roma around the ballpark of £19.3m to land just last summer.
He did warrant that hefty price-tag after standing out as a midfield star over many seasons at Lorient, regardless of his time in Italy not going entirely to plan.
The much-talked-about 24-year-old would tally up 142 appearances in total for Lorient before moving to the Italian capital, with eight goals and 15 assists coming his way.
Across those games, Le Fee showed off a versatility that will prove to be useful to Le Bris when his squad is potentially stretched towards the business end of the season, with his standout 2022/23 in France seeing him interchange between playing in attacking midfield and in a more traditional central role.
Arsenal were even knocking on the Ligue 1 outfit’s door about picking up the adaptable midfielder once upon a time, but no such move would take place, with Sunderland now his new surprise destination.
Whilst Le Fee joining the Wearside club’s ranks is undoubtedly exciting, Sunderland supporters would be even more over the moon if this second statement buy was secured, with the attacker in question potentially firing in the goals to guide the Black Cats up to the Premier League.
Why Cannon could be a more exciting signing
As per new reports from journalist Alan Nixon – via Sunderland Echo – Sunderland are prepared to splash the cash this January on snapping up EFL sharpshooter Tom Cannon, with the potent attacker back at Leicester City after his Stoke City loan stint was cut short.
Now, it is being alleged that the powers that be at the Stadium of Light have put forward a £13m bid to try and win the Republic of Ireland star’s services, with Sheffield United also hot on Sunderland’s heels in pursuing the in-demand 22-year-old.
This could be a more exciting pick-up that Le Fee if pulled off purely because he could be the difference maker when games heat up towards the nitty gritty stages of the 46-game marathon, with the midfield areas of Le Bris’ squad already packed with top-quality in the form of Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil and more away from the Frenchman’s arrival onto the scene.
Whereas, up top, Cannon would be an improvement on Wilson Isidor, with the now ex-Stoke man bettering his counterpart’s Championship goal tally for this season by one with nine strikes next to Isidor’s eight, on top of the fact the quick-minded attacker very rarely needs a second invitation to fire a golden opportunity home.
This season to date in the second tier, Cannon has managed to bag those impressive nine goals from an average of just 22.3 touches per clash, with his opener against Sunderland last time out in the FA Cup coming after just four minutes had been played.
Whilst Isidor will no doubt still play his part in Sunderland’s ongoing promotion story, snapping up the “outstanding” forward – as he was labelled last season by Liam Rosenior – would be a major statement of intent in beating a promotion rival to a signing and in gifting the Black Cats another sensational addition.
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ByCharlie SmithJan 15, 2025