Sunderland appear to have won the race to sign Malick Fofana (Reuters)
Lyon winger Malick Fofana is set to join Sunderland after U-turning on a transfer to Crystal Palace on deadline day, according to reports in France.
Fofana had initially agreed to join Sunderland in a deal worth €35 million (£29.9m) but Palace appeared to hijack the Black Cats’ move by reaching their own €39m (£33.4m) agreement with Lyon on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old looked on course to sign for Palace on deadline day, but L’Equipe are now reporting that Sunderland rescued their deal by offering more commission to the Belgian’s agents.
Fofana is now understood to be travelling to Sunderland in order to finalise his move to Regis Le Bris’ side.
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Earlier on Tuesday, reports claimed that Arsenal were considering a move for Fofana to bolster Mikel Arteta’s attacking options.
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Fofana is said to have spoken to Arteta about a potential move to Arsenal and was open to the possibility of joining the Premier League champions.
Last season, Fofana’s campaign was heavily disrupted due to ankle surgery and the winger made just 16 appearances across all competitions.
Fofana has also made five appearances for Belgium’s national team but was not part of the squad for their World Cup campaign earlier this summer.
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