Sunderland concluded their pre-season campaign with a defeat to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday
Régis Le Bris has insisted that both Enzo Le Fée and Dan Neil are a big part of this plans for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Both appear to be facing an uphill battle to win a place in Sunderland’s starting XI to face West Ham United, having been named in the heavily rotated side to face Rayo Vallecano at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra were named as the midfield three to face FC Augbsurg a day previous, and appear to be set to continue there on opening weekend.
Le Bris hinted that he was likely to use Le Fée as an impact substitute to begin with but insisted that could change very quickly and that the 25-year-old is central to his plans for the campaign as a whole.
"We'll have two or three players like Enzo, really close to the starting XI but ay the same time we have to make a choice because we can only play with 11 players," Le Bris said.
"We need to build starters and finishes. Our midfielders will have this opportunity, that's really clear. It's the same for our strikers. It's positive and we will try to find this competition in every position before the end of the transfer window.
"At the minute but the season can change so quickly, so you can start the first game in this position, we'll see if that's the case against West Ham, we'll decide this week. But if it's the case, maybe after one game or two or three it will change because the dynamic of the season is always different and we need 15 or 16 players at the best level."
Though Dan Neil’s situation is complicated slightly by his contract situation (Le Bris confirmed there had been no progress at this stage), the head coach said he would get opportunities over the course of the season and had impressed him behind the scenes this summer.
"Absolutely," Le Bris said.
"In Dan's position we have a strong and experienced player and he will massively help the squad thanks to his level but also leadership and experience.
"For a player like Dan and others who played in the Championship last season, the gap to the Premier League is really important so if you can learn behind a player like Granit then you can learn quickly and this gap can be reduced really quickly.
"He will have opportunities if he works well. He's done well so far. He's a good professional and he understands the situation. For me it's more an opportunity than a problem and if you think like that it's a positive."
Régis Le Bris reflects on Rayo Vallecano defeat
Le Bris said fans should not read too much into Sunderland’s defeat to La Liga side Rayo Vallecano, and that he would be judging the senior players involved on what was a very difficult assignment given the changes.
"It was a strong opponent ready for La Liga," Le Bris said.
"We need strong opponents to grow, even if our squad was today wasn't well connected for different reasons, it was a good test and it was better for the competitive fixtures to have this experience. We have come through the two games with no injuries, and with more game time for our players. Between Augsburg and Rayo Vallecano, we can feel that the first squad is very connected and this is the main squad for the beginning of the season. And then today, we have three, four, five players ready for this squad as well. It is more difficult for them in this moment because they are connecting with less experienced players and the level is a little below, but they worked [hard] and it was the right decision for next weekend."
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