Malick Fofana not joining Arsenal as Sunderland agree deal for Lyon winger

Malick Fofana will not be joining Arsenal, with Sunderland now closing in on a deal to sign the highly rated Lyon winger.

Arsenal had explored a deadline day move for the 21 year old and held talks over a potential transfer. Fofana was also understood to be keen on the possibility of moving to the Emirates.

However, the biggest problem was always Lyon's asking price.

The French club wanted around €40 million for Fofana and Arsenal were not prepared to go anywhere near that figure. Fabrizio Romano reported that the Gunners considered the valuation too high and would only proceed if Lyon were willing to agree to different terms or a different structure.

Once it became clear that a compromise was unlikely, Arsenal decided not to push ahead with the deal.

That opened the door for Sunderland.

The Black Cats had remained in negotiations with both Lyon and Fofana's representatives while Arsenal were considering their options. Those talks have now resulted in an agreement.

According to David Ornstein, Sunderland have reached an agreement with Lyon for the permanent signing of Fofana, with the Belgium international given permission to travel for his medical. He is expected to sign a five year contract if everything goes according to plan.

Fabrizio Romano has also given the deal his "here we go", reporting that Fofana is on his way to undergo his Sunderland medical.

Sunderland are understood to have agreed a package worth €30 million plus add ons with Lyon. Romano also stressed that Arsenal were never planning to pay the €35 million to €40 million package required to complete the transfer.

It represents quite a turnaround on deadline day.

Only a day earlier, Arsenal appeared to be in a strong position. L'Equipe reported that the Premier League champions were negotiating with Fofana's camp, while Foot Mercato reported that the winger had already spoken with Mikel Arteta and was interested in joining Arsenal.

But he is going to play Sunderland. That's how things can quickly change in the transfer window.