Sunderland has sealed a deal with Lyon over Malick Fofana and now fully owe the winger in a £30m deal.
Fofana, 21, is travelling to England for a medical and would sign the 5-year contract there. Sunderland would make initial payment of £25.6m and might make £4.3m add-on later.
Having qualified for Europa League for the first time in 51 years, Sunderland would be launching its first European campaign with Malick Fofana who, in turn, is understood to be very excited.
It was Arsenal which first made bid to buy Fofana. Unfortunately, the Premier league champions couldn’t agree on a price with Lyon.
Fofana began his career at KAA Gent before joining the Ligue 1 side in 2024. The Belgium forward would be playing with Kevin Danso in Sunderland, with the Austria defender arriving on a loan from Tottenham.
It has been a buying spree for Sunderland this summer, having also signed defenders Thomas Meunier and Dayann Methalie, and midfielder Jules Ahoka after its unimpressive seventh position in their first season.
The Black Cats beat Fulham on Sunday after losing their opening match of the 2026-27 season at Ipswich.