{"id":2921,"date":"2026-09-02T01:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T01:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=2921"},"modified":"2026-09-02T01:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T01:06:21","slug":"malick-fofana-sunderland-finally-complete-signing-of-lyon-winger-after-deadline-day-drama-with-crystal-palace-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=2921","title":{"rendered":"Malick Fofana: Sunderland finally complete signing of Lyon winger after Deadline Day drama with Crystal Palace | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Sunderland have finally completed the signing of Lyon winger Malick Fofana after a dramatic Deadline Day transfer saga involving two private jets and the player changing his mind multiple times.<\/p>\n

Sunderland agreed a deal to sign Fofana on Deadline Day morning but Crystal Palace – whose manager Pierre Sage worked with him before at Lyon – tried to hijack the deal.<\/p>\n

With both Premier League clubs agreeing a deal with Lyon for the winger, Fofana was then sat at Lyon airport, with two private jets waiting on him to make a decision. One plane was set for Sunderland, the other was set for London.<\/p>\n

Fofana also took one medical in Lyon on Deadline Day that both teams had access to.<\/p>\n

But just over an hour to go until the deadline, Fofana eventually chose Sunderland with Black Cats owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus travelling to Lyon to convince the player to join.<\/p>\n

Fofana’s move to Sunderland consists of an initial \u00a325.7m with \u00a35.14m in add-ons.<\/p>\n

Arsenal were also considering a move for Fofana over the weekend but did not make a move for the player.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n


\n \"\"
\n <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Re-live all the thrills and spills from Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News.<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

How a dramatic Deadline Day panned out<\/h3>\n

10:47am: <\/strong>After Arsenal did not take up the chance to sign Fofana, Sunderland agreed a deal with Lyon for the winger worth up to \u00a330m.<\/p>\n

1:01pm:<\/strong> Crystal Palace try to hijack Sunderland’s five-year deal for Fofana by entering in direct communication with the player in an attempt to convince him to join them.<\/p>\n

3:18pm:<\/strong> Crystal Palace agree a deal with Lyon for Fofana. Sunderland begin talks with fellow Belgium winger Dodi Lukebakio on top of the Fofana deal.<\/p>\n

3.42pm:<\/strong> Fofana is at Lyon airport with two private jets waiting on him to make a decision – one bound for Sunderland and another for London.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n


\n \"\"
\n <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Sky Sports Keith Downie explains how Lyon winger Malick Fofana had the choice of TWO private jets to the UK to seal a move to a Premier League club!!<\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

8:24pm:<\/strong> Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus visits Lyon to try and persuade Fofana to choose Sunderland over Palace. The player effectively undergoes one medical for both teams.<\/p>\n

9:38pm:<\/strong> Sunderland’s attempts to sign Benfica’s Lukebakio end as a decision is made for him to remain with the Portuguese club.<\/p>\n

9:50pm:<\/strong> Fofana gives Sunderland the green light after changing his mind multiple times throughout the day. The price of the deal rises to \u00a330.8m.<\/p>\n

10:54pm:<\/strong> Sunderland submit a deal sheet to get the Fofana deal over the line.<\/p>\n

12:15am:<\/strong> Sunderland announce the Fofana deal<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunderland have finally completed the signing of Lyon winger Malick Fofana after a dramatic Deadline…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}