How Regis Le Bris shaped the careers of Enzo Le Fee and Illan Meslier — The Northern Echo 17/2/25

By Scott Wilson

AT first, they were friends at school, growing up together in the Breton sea port of Lorient and sharing classes as well as a love of football. Then, they embarked on their footballing careers together, joining the youth section of their local team and progressing through the academy ranks before making their respective first-team debuts within a year of each other.

After that, they went their separate ways, one heading to England while the other remained in France before eventually moving to Italy. Now, if not quite back together, they find themselves living within 100 miles of each other, pursuing parallel dreams. This evening, they will line up against each other at Elland Road, friends reunited. Illan Meslier, Leeds United goalkeeper. Enzo Le Fee, Sunderland left-sided attacker. Regis Le Bris? Former Lorient academy boss and first-team coach, and proud father figure.

“When I watch players I have worked with in some of their games, I can be happy to see their development and how they are doing in their career,” said Le Bris, who worked with both Meslier and Le Fee during their formative years in the Lorient youth ranks. “For me, it was a short period with them. Before me, they had many experiences, and then after me, they had many experiences too.  It was just a part of the process. But in the youth academy, you manage different players, then after that, you can be proud when they have success in their career.”

Meslier has made 198 senior appearances for Leeds, more than half of which were in the Premier League, and is a former France Under-21 international. Le Fee has played almost 150 games in Ligue 1, spent time in Serie A and is also a France Under-21 player as well as an Olympian.

Suffice to say, they have both done rather well for themselves. But did Le Bris always know they had what it would take to succeed at the highest level? Did their careers always follow an upward trajectory, or were there obstacles to be overcome along the way?

“They were in the same year when they were coming through at Lorient,” said the Sunderland boss. “They played in the same youth team when I was the coach. They both stood out from a very early age. I always knew they had a good chance of doing very well, although there were different dynamics for each of them.

“Ilan wasn’t so tall when he was young, so his real development probably came a bit later when he was 16 or 17 years old. He discovered his real potential around 17 or 18. Enzo was really talented when he was very young, but then after that, he had a period where he struggled a bit with injuries. His body wasn’t really physically mature between the period of 17 and 18. After that, though, he became the player he is now.

“So, although they were together, they had different dynamics and a different pathway. But by the time they had turned 18 or 19, it was clear they both had a lot of potential.

“Even at that stage though, it is a long journey. At the end of the process, many people can say it was obvious that a certain player would make it, but before, it is never that obvious. If you look at our team this season, you can say now that we have a very good team, but when we started, it wasn’t really the case. With young players, it is often like that too.

“It is often about when they can get their opportunity. That is when you really see. Before that, you can still have many doubts. But when they are on the pitch, that is when you can say, ‘Ah yes, it is clear, they can play’.

“It is a question of opportunities, and the environment that you create around them, to support them and help them learn from their mistakes. It is about showing them that you believe they can succeed, believe they can manage different situations and believe that they can express their talent.”

It is clear that Le Bris was crucial to the development of both players. In his usual self-deprecating manner, Sunderland’s head coach seeks to downplay the importance of his role in Meslier and Le Fee’s progression to where they are now, but Le Fee wouldn’t be playing for Sunderland if it wasn’t for the strength of the bond he developed with his mentor. Plenty of other clubs wanted him when it became clear that Roma were willing to listen to offers last month, and a move to the English Championship wouldn’t ordinarily have been at the top of most people’s wish list in a similar position. Le Fee wasn’t just joining Sunderland though, he was putting his fate back in Le Bris’ hands. Ultimately, that proved crucial.

Similarly, when Meslier produced one of the all-time great footballing clangers in Leeds’ 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light earlier this season, it was Le Bris consoling him at the end of the game. Other well-wishers came and went, but it was Le Bris that Meslier sought to confide in. Trust endures.

That was a rough night for the Leeds goalkeeper, but Le Fee has had his own difficult times too. Ostracised at Roma, he sought sanctuary with Le Bris’ Sunderland, having previously relied on the head coach’s support when a succession of injuries threatened to stunt his progress at Lorient.

“We supported Enzo when he was having his injury problems back then,” explained Le Bris. “He was really well-connected to the club, it was like a family for him. He was always around, and people were always around him.

“He was always going to get the time he needed to recover from injury and let his body mature. At a club like Lorient, or one of the other smaller clubs in France, when you have two or three talents, you take care of them. They are very important.”

That faith and respect was then reciprocated when big clubs began to come calling. Le Fee was linked with both Liverpool and Arsenal after breaking into the senior ranks at Lorient, but opted to remain with the club that had supported and nurtured him rather than opting to jump ship at the first opportunity that presented itself.

“Other clubs tried to sign Enzo,” said Le Bris. “A lot. But I think he probably felt that the atmosphere we created was very positive for him. He is from Lorient and that probably also helped. It made it very easy for him to stay.”

Eventually, time moves on. Le Fee left Lorient for Rome; Le Bris headed away from his homeland to join Sunderland. Last month, they were brought back together when Le Fee made a season-long loan move to Wearside, with his temporary employers having agreed a deal for a permanent transfer if they win promotion this season.

Meslier has spent the last five-and-half years with Leeds, so this evening’s game will be the first time he has lined up against Le Fee in a competitive environment. From the school playground to the training pitches at Lorient and now on to the bright lights of Elland Road. Quite a footballing journey.

“There won’t be many players that went to the same school together,” said Le Bris. “They have been on a long journey together through their lives. I am sure they are looking forward to playing against each other.”