The summer of 2016. As England were still reeling from Iceland and ignominy, Sunderland were coming to an agreement with Brittany based French side FC Lorient, this for the services of midfielder Didier Ndong.

The club - Sunderland - had belatedly arrived in what was a transfer record breaking summer, with many a Premier League rival eclipsing their own previous best expenditure on any one player.

Ellis Short, conscious of the optics, reluctantly emerged with what may have looked like a parting gift but one which would, in time, simply add over £13 million to a debt that would enter the public conscience more in the ensuing years and leave the club more unattractive than it ever should have been.

READ MORE: Régis Le Bris tactical analysis: What are Sunderland getting

One can only imagine the reaction of the powers that be at Lorient when they realised just how much Sunderland were willing to pay for the Gabonese international.

So, a Euros summer, and relations between Sunderland and Lorient is not without precedent. It is with us again.

Regis Le Bris' Red 'n White Army. It actually rolls of the tongue almost effortlessly.

It may, however, be some time before we hear the famed chant bellow round the bowl of the Stadium of Light.

His time as a manager is, on paper, unremarkable. Assuming control at Lorient in the French top flight, a credible mid table finish was followed by relegation a few months ago. For the most part his time in France has been spent overseeing the development of youth.

As such Sunderland, like most others who have opted for similar, feel obliged to highlight attributes that chime with the current set-up on Wearside.

In a similar vein, every attempt is made to ensure media, as conduit to the footballing public, speak of Le Bris as someone whose name never strayed from any shortlist, mythical or real. And that any delay in appointment was owing to i's being undotted and t's being uncrossed from his employment in Brittany.

There are no guarantees in football, a scriptless sport where stardom can be achieved despite humble beginnings and feelings of hopelessness from the sidelines.

I am certain Le Bris will come enthused and hungry. He will say the right things publicly, the worry, saying yes to everything in private.

At least now pre-season can commence with such a sorry saga having been addressed, with the playing personnel presented with a blank canvas where equal opportunity is afforded to those closest to leave their own impression.

That he arrives bereft of any deep understanding of the malaise that is frequently visited upon this part of the football world may not be a bad thing.

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If, as many suspect, he is fettered to acquisitions that, by and large, have little to no experience then he will not only have to utilise what attributes he has but learn to develop more.

This column, several months ago, suggested it would be unsurprising if the new manager was someone who would find it very difficult to turn down the personal remuneration on offer and, consequently, would not be overly perturbed by the small print.

The coming weeks will inform as to whether Le Bris has, somehow, been able to persuade the purse holders to veer from the transfer policy and path of windows past, and more equally marry youth to experience. Then, we may find out if he can begin to detoxify the chalice he is the latest to inherit.