Malick Fofana: Private jets, video games and an unlikely tug of war between Sunderland and Palace | OneFootball

Malick Fofana completed a £30million move from Lyon to Sunderland on deadline day. The 21-year-old Belgian chose Wearside after a fraught tug of war with Crystal Palace while he spent the day at home playing video games.

On Tuesday morning he was headed for Sunderland, then Palace intervened after learning a fee with Lyon and a five-year deal were in place. According to NY Times, manager Pierre Sage, who worked with Fofana at Lyon, twice phoned to sell Palace’s project, briefly swaying the player and prompting Sunderland to improve terms.

With time tight, both clubs sanctioned a joint medical organised by Lyon. Fofana had surgery on a serious right ankle injury in October 2025 and, despite six appearances in 2026-27, the results gave Palace pause. Sunderland stayed confident, and chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus flew to Lyon to meet the player.

Private planes from both clubs waited in France to bring him to England, though reports of Liverpool sending one were incorrect. After a period off-grid with his representatives, he informed Sunderland at 9pm that he would sign, allowing a dealsheet to be filed before the 11pm cut-off.

Sunderland have targeted Belgian and French markets, adding Dayann Methalie, Thomas Meunier and Jules Ahoka this summer, and had worked on Fofana for almost a week. Margarita Louis-Dreyfus holds a small stake in Marseille, and the late Robert Louis-Dreyfus once held a stake in Royal Antwerp. Pending international clearance and registration, he should be available to Regis Le Bris for Saturday’s trip to Brentford.

Source: NY Times

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