Who is Regis Le Bris? Sunderland's potential new manager | OneFootball

Sunderland are closing in on the appointment of Regis Le Bris

The Black Cats finally look to have made a significant breakthrough in their long-running pursuit to find a permanent manager following the sacking of previous boss Mick Beale back in February.

Sky Sports News' North East reporter Keith Downie also shared the news of the Black Cats' advanced talks with Le Bris, and added that the Lorient boss was part of a five-man shortlist drawn up by the club's hierarchy following Beale's exit.

Downie also revealed that the process with Le Bris has been drawn out due to the club's approach for Will Still, while the Frenchman needs a work permit, which the Mackems are confident will be granted.

Sunderland are also still trying to "tie up loose ends" with the 48-year-old's current club as per Downie's X post.

The Stadium of Light faithful will be glad to hear that their club's managerial saga is finally nearing its end, but who is Le Bris?

Le Bris has a mixed record at Lorient

Prior to his stint with the Lorient first team, Le Bris had not managed in professional football, as he was Lorient B's manager from 2015-2022.

The club's B team ply their trade in the fourth tier of French football, which is a semi-professional league.

The 48-year-old steered the Ligue 1 outfit to an impressive 10th-place finish in the top flight of French football during the 2022/23 season, which was the club's third season at the top level following their promotion from Ligue 2 in 2020.

He also guided Les Merlus to the last 16 of the Coupe De France that campaign, but they stumbled to a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of RC Lens.

Following a solid start to life in the professional game, Le Bris experienced a difficult second season in Ligue 1, as his side were relegated back to Ligue 2 following a four-year stay in the top-flight.

At surface level, Black Cats supporters may not be best pleased by the fact that their club is closing in on the appointment of a manager who has just been relegated with Les Merlus.

However, Le Bris' 2022/23 exploits show that he was capable of finishing in the top half of a prestigious European league, even during his first campaign as a manager in the professional game, so there is every chance that he could be a solid Championship boss.

Meanwhile, last summer, French football journalist Mohamed Toubache-Ter reported that Leeds United had approached Lorient for Le Bris' services prior to the appointment of Daniel Farke.

Prior to his managerial career, the Frenchman played in his home nation for Stade Rennais from 1994-1999 before moving on to Stade Lavallois Mayenne, where he stayed until 2002.

The former midfielder then joined Belgian side Koninklijke Sportkting Ronse, where he retired in 2003.

Le Bris' playing style

Upon Le Bris' potential arrival, the Stadium of Light faithful can expect to see their side deploying a 3-4-2-1 formation which was the Frenchman's preferred system at Lorient.

Throughout the 48-year-old's tenure at the club, Les Merlus did not look to dominate possession, instead opting for a counter-attacking style of play.

Even during Lorient's successful 2022/23 campaign, Le Bris' side maintained an average possession of just 46.5%, while throughout the last campaign they kept 46.2% possession according to FotMob.

Les Merlus were not a particularly strong pressing side under Les Bris, and won possession in the final third 3.5 times per game on average, as per FotMob.

The Black Cats must be patient with Le Bris

Should the northeast outfit appoint the 48-year-old, he will be entering just his third season as a manager in the professional game in a country where he has never worked before.

The Black Cats are a club with a large fan base who demand success, and secured a Championship play-off spot in 2023, just one season after their promotion from League One, which somewhat raised expectations even more.

During an enjoyable 2022/23 season, the Stadium of Light outfit were a stable side under the management of Tony Mowbray, who took charge of the club for the vast majority of the campaign after taking over from Alex Neil in August 2022.

Mowbray's stewardship offered the Mackems with a sturdy platform to build success from, but by December 2023 he was dismissed from his duties, and replaced by Mick Beale.

Beale was subsequently sacked after just 12 games in charge back in February, leaving the club in the hands of caretaker boss Mike Dodds.

The Black Cats finished just 16th in the Championship table, following a campaign in which they were managed by three separate managers, which epitomises the detrimental impact a lack of managerial stability can have on a club.

With this in mind, club owners Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori must remain patient with Le Bris in order to get the best out of the Frenchman, and to potentially launch their second play-off challenge in three seasons.