Малик Фофана Сандерленд багт нэгдэхээр боллоо

Malick Fofana became an unlikely main character on Tuesday’s transfer deadline day. The 21-year-old Belgian winger left Lyon to join Sunderland for £30million ($41m), but only after one of the sagas of the summer.

It involved a fleet of private jets, competing stories of simultaneous medicals, and a classic game of Premier League one-upmanship that ran throughout the day, while the player sat at home, playing computer games.

Firstly, the footballer: Fofana has established himself as one of the most talented young forwards in France. He joined Lyon from Gent in 2024 and in the two seasons that followed, showed himself to be a dynamic, dangerous ball carrier and a versatile attacking weapon.

Premier League interest naturally followed and Fofana, who has five international caps for Belgium but was not part of the recent World Cup squad, has been a regular in gossip columns for much of the past year.

On Tuesday morning, Fofana was headed for Sunderland.

That made sense. The Belgian and French markets have been areas of focus for the club, particularly over the past 12 months. Before Fofana, Sunderland had already signed three players (Dayann Methalie, Thomas Meunier and Jules Ahoka) from those leagues this summer. This time last year, as the Black Cats prepared for their first season back in the Premier League, it was four.

The French market is a particular strength for them. Florent Ghisolfi, Sunderland’s sporting director, comes from Aubagne and previously worked for Nice. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, mother of owner Kyril, owns a small stake in Ligue 1 side Marseille. The late Robert Louis-Dreyfus, Kyril’s father, once owned a stake in Royal Antwerp.

Heading into the summer, Sunderland’s focus had been to add young, developing players to their squad, while also supplementing it with immediate difference-makers. Fofana satisfies both categories. The club see him as a versatile player who fits their tactical system and possesses significant potential. By the time the outline of an agreement had been reached with Lyon, they had been working on the deal for almost a week.

At one point during the summer, they had been confident of also signing Igor Paixao, Marseille’s Brazilian forward, but as their chances of doing that deal faded, they narrowed their focus on Fofana. The club were aware of interest from other Premier League parties but were confident of being able to complete the signing.

But Crystal Palace were not prepared to give them a free run.

After learning that Sunderland had agreed a fee with Lyon and a five-year contract with the player, the south London club launched their own pursuit.

Their interest in Fofana dates to last summer. They had some reservations about his size, how he might cope with English football and whether he could function in their team, which currently does not use wingers, but Pierre Sage, their new manager, had worked with Fofana at Lyon and drove their pursuit.

The transfer then entered its final, dramatic few hours.

On Tuesday morning, Sage spoke with Fofana on the telephone and attempted to convince him to move to south London instead of Wearside. The player was swayed. With another interested party, the financial dimensions of the deal began to shift and Sunderland improved their offer to the player and his agents.

Because of the short timescale, both clubs agreed to sanction a joint medical. Lyon organised it on the understanding that they would pass the costs on to the English clubs. Fofana suffered a serious right ankle injury in October 2025 and missed five months of last season following surgery, but while he has cumulatively played six games already in 2026-27, the results of that examination caused Palace concern.

While Sunderland remained optimistic, they were anxious that Sage’s prior relationship with the player might prove advantageous. To combat that, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the chairman and majority owner, flew to Lyon to meet with the player. Sage also spoke with Fofana a second time to sell him on the Palace project.

Both clubs then sent private jets to France, ready to transport the player to England — albeit to different ends of the country. Reports that Liverpool chartered their own jet are incorrect. While they are among the player’s admirers, he was never considered a target for the current window.

The late afternoon and early evening were fraught. Fofana had spent the day at home, playing video games and largely allowing the drama to play out around him. Before making a final decision, he and his representatives huddled in private, disappearing off-grid for a time, before finally communicating his intention to sign for Sunderland at 9pm on Tuesday evening, allowing the club to submit a dealsheet before the 11pm deadline.

Pending international clearance and registration, he should now be available to Regis Le Bris for Saturday’s trip to Brentford.