It feels like a very long time ago now since Enzo Le Fee put pen to paper on a permanent stay at Sunderland.
The confirmation of the dazzling Frenchman staying put at the Stadium of Light past his standout loan spell did occur way back at the start of June, long before the Black Cats had added in the likes of Habib Diarra for a whopping £30m, on top of also boldly convincing Granit Xhaka to return to the Premier League.
Sunderland’s ninth venture into the transfer market is nearly complete as well, as Chelsea hotshot Marc Guiu set to join the building on loan very soon after passing his medical. Expect that number to soon hit double digits, too, if the ongoing Black Cats rumour mill is anything to go by.
Sunderland in the mix for £26m attacker
Every passing minute on Wearside seems to throw up another tantalising rumour.
TalkSPORT recently revealed that Sunderland had been plotting an ambitious free-agent swoop for former Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, only to be met by the ex-England international keeping his options wide open, as a move further up the top-flight rankings is preferred.
Sunderland may well also face an uphill battle to land this explosive left winger off the back of new, emerging rumours coming out of Turkey.
Indeed, as per a fresh development from Turkish outlet Saba Spor – via X – Galatasaray are unwilling to let their star-man Barış Alper Yılmaz leave the Super Lig giants this summer, unless an ‘astronomical’ offer is forthcoming.
This will be a setback for those keeping an active eye on Yilmaz’s situation, with Atalanta, RB Leipzig, and West Ham United all named in the mix to pick up the exciting 25-year-old, alongside Sunderland, having been previously tipped to have a £26m price tag above his head.
It remains to be seen what amount would satisfy his current employers’ excessive wants, but if Sunderland were to win Yilmaz’s services down the line, he could go on to be viewed as another statement, Le-Fee style capture.
How Yilmaz can be another Le Fee level signing
After all, it was immediately apparent from minute one of Le Fee’s Sunderland adventure that the Frenchman had a higher pedigree about him.
Before heading to England to link up with his former Lorient boss in Regis Le Bris, the silky 25-year-old had amassed a bumper eight goals and 15 assists for the French side.
Unfortunately, a subsequent move to AS Roma just didn’t work out, but the Serie A outfit’s loss ended up being the Black Cats’ gigantic gain, as seen in him picking a single goal and three assists last season to steer Le Bris and Co. immediately up a division.
Yilmaz will hope he can be an instant spark, too, even as Sunderland wrestle with the difficulties of the punishing Premier League, having more than proven himself as an attacking force in his native Turkey.
He has routinely gotten the passionate Galatasaray masses out of their seats with his direct, rampaging approach in attack, with a hefty 25 goals and 20 assists next to his name from 156 appearances for the Super Lig giants.
12 of those strikes would come his way last season as his team reigned supreme again in the Turkish top-flight, with his sublime ability to carve out openings for his teammates also putting him on the same pedestal as Le Fee, as seen in him creating eight big chances in total from those 32 league encounters.
Games played
32
Goals scored
12
Assists
3
Shots*
2.4
Key passes*
1.4
Big chances missed
11
Big chances created
8
Total duels won*
6.3
Yilmaz might even find his game is elevated to that next level partnered alongside Le Fee, with the 25-year-old becoming even more of an “animal” – as he’s been dubbed by football journalist Uğur Karakullukçu – in front of goal as the French playmaker feeds him chances.
Sunderland never know when they’re beaten during this transfer window to date, with another big move in the offing if Le Bris and Co. are willing to splash the cash on another pricey buy.
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