Sunderland appointing Regis Le Bris could be great news for one Black Cats player, after his disappointing 2023/24 season.
Sunderland have hired Frenchman Regis Le Bris as their new head coach, with the 48-year-old holding his first press conference on Wednesday.
Fans were left mostly impressed by Le Bris; what he said and how he spoke in what would’ve been a nervy situation for the inexperienced manager.
Le Bris has only had two seasons as a manager which ended in relegation from Ligue 1 with Lorient earlier this year.
Prior to that, Le Bris spent almost two decades working in youth football, with Stade Rennais and later Lorient, before stepping up at the latter and taking charge of the first-team.
His arrival ends a four-month period without a permanent manager in place at the Stadium of Light. Though fans don’t know what to expect from Le Bris who really is an unknown quantity in England.
But one Sunderland player in particular may be hoping that Le Bris is the man to get him back on an upwards trajectory.
Pierre Ekwah’s 2023/24 season with Sunderland
Pierre Ekwah was a disappointing player for Sunderland in 2023/24, after setting the bar very high with his performances in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
Frenchman Ekwah featured 40 times in the Championship last season and grabbed a decent return of five goals and two assists.
But a key criticism of Ekwah’s was his unwillingness to do the dirty work in midfield, and his inconsistency in performances.
Last season, Ekwah even earned the tag of the Championship’s Most Disappointing Player; maybe a bit harsh, but certainly an indication of how his previous trajectory had gone down somewhat.
Regis Le Bris could be perfect remedy for Pierre Ekwah shortcomings at Sunderland
We saw in 2022/23 and in spells last season, a very, very good player in Ekwah.
At his best, he’s untouchable in the midfield, capable of doing everything a midfield could possible do, giving Sunderland a real physical and technical threat in the middle of the park.
It was a tough season for the team overall and Ekwah and Dan Neil not having much competition or cover in the midfield certainly didn’t help either, Ekwah especially.
So Kristjaan Speakman can help the pair in that sense, by adding some extra bodies in the midfield.
But Le Bris, given the French connection with Ekwah and his track record of working with youngsters like Ekwah, who’s still only 22 and very inexperienced in senior football, could be the perfect catalyst for Ekwah to get back on an upwards trajectory.
The same can be applied to a lot of players going into next season. But Ekwah was arguably the most disappointing given how good he was at the end of 2022/23.
Le Bris could unearth another £20million player at Sunderland in Ekwah.