Le Bris can boldly drop Le Fee by unleashing Sunderland’s new Khazri

Sunderland are into the final stretch of the season, and Regis Le Bris has no concerns over the security of his side’s position in the Premier League.

Le Bris has worked wonders at the Stadium of Light, securing promotion last season and now maintaining an outside chance of qualifying for European football at the business end.

And all this having nurtured one of the youngest squads in the division. Tenth in the standings (ahead of Newcastle United, of course), the Black Cats are purring, with last year’s transfer business paying off handsomely.

The newbies have settled in nicely, with Le Bris enjoying plenty of rotation throughout the season. With a pivotal trip to Merseyside to take on Everton looming this weekend, Sunderland might be inclined to unleash a young star in the place of Enzo Le Fee.

Why Sunderland could drop Le Fee on Sunday

Le Fee is one of the silkier parts of Sunderland’s first team. Hailed as an “incredible” talent by his manager, the Frenchman has played regularly, starting 27 times, though he only managed a few minutes during the big win in the Tyne-Wear derby.

A creative and well-rounded player, Le Fee, 26, is a core member of this Sunderland side, but Le Bris must line up with a partnership of Noah Sadiki and Granit Xhaka in the central pivot, Habib Diarra bringing energy and unpredictability in front.

Is Le Fee, who is not the most active dribbler in the division, the right pick to unleash on the left wing? Perhaps not, especially when considering that pace and potency could help get the better of Jake O’Brien.

Sunderland have a young team, but they do have options, and Le Bris might want to swap Le Fee with the outfit’s new version of Wahbi Khazri.

Sunderland’s new Wahbi Khazri

Like Khazri, Chemsdine Talbi is capable of the spectacular. The young attacking midfielder, however, will not want to emulate the retired Tunisia international in failing to bring it all together on Wearside, part of the miserable side who were relegated from the Premier League in 2016/17.

Sunderland signed Talbi from Club Brugge last summer in a package rising to £20.5m. He arrived as a dynamic and versatile attacking midfielder who had been described as “one of the biggest revelations of 2024/25” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and though the Premier League is a harsh landscape, he has definitely shown signs of growth in red and white.

The 20-year-old is incomplete, tactically speaking, but he has already proven his worth in the Premier League, popping up with some big moments and showcasing plenty of style.

You can’t help but wonder whether someone as naturally gifted as Khazri would have enjoyed better returns had he played in this current Sunderland side. Certainly, the 35-year-old possessed the right kind of skillset to enhance this industrious system.

Talbi is the future, though, and the Black Cats could benefit from playing him from the outset, with his three Premier League goals this term coming against Chelsea, Liverpool, Burnley, and Arsenal. Three of those sides are among the most threatening in the division, and Khazri bagged against Chelsea and Manchester United way back when.

In that, maybe he had a habit for turning on the tap when placed on the major stage. The hope is that Talbi will operate with greater consistency, and considering the magic at his feet, it’s crucial that he starts on Sunday over Le Fee, more likely to breach that hardy backline.

There’s no question that players such as Talbi will be expected to improve next season, but he is young and he has demonstrated that he has the potential to become a leading Premier League winger.

In this, he’s not too similar to someone like Khazri, but whereas the Tunisian failed to bring it all together, Talbi plays in a special Sunderland side, and he has the potential to go not one but many steps further.

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