Arsenal were one of the clubs interested in signing Malick Fofana from Lyon at the end of the summer transfer window before the 21-year-old winger joined Sunderland on deadline day
Malick Fofana
Malick Fofana joined Sunderland on deadline day(Image: Getty Images)
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Malick Fofana is convinced he can achieve "something special" with Sunderland after the Black Cats won the race to sign the winger from Lyon on transfer deadline day.
Fofana joined Sunderland in a £30million deal on Tuesday following a transfer tug-of-war with Crystal Palace on deadline day. Palace boss Pierre Sage was keen to land the 21-year-old, but he chose Sunderland instead.
Yet Fofana could have ended up in north London had things gone differently. The Belgian star was offered to Arsenal last week, with the Gunners considering a bid after it became clear that top target Julian Alvarez was unlikely to leave Atletico Madrid.
However, there was no universal internal agreement over the signing of Fofana, despite Mikel Arteta holding talks with him. The Athletic reports that Arteta was concerned about Fofana's ability to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League, while they would also have preferred a loan deal, rather than a permanent transfer.
Fofana ultimately turned down a late hijack attempt from Palace to join Regis Le Bris' side and he is excited by the upcoming campaign in the Europa League. “I’m very happy and excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started," he told the Sunderland club website.
"I spoke with a lot of people before coming here and they gave me the feeling they really wanted me. It’s been a busy 48 hours, but I can’t wait to get going. I’ve already played in the Europa League and I hope I can bring that experience here.”
He added: “The Premier League is a new experience for me, so I hope it’s a great season. I know with this squad we can do something special.”
Malick Fofana celebrates
Malick Fofana chose to join Sunderland(Image: OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP via Getty Images)
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Arsenal recently sold Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona and Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal, so therefore gave consideration to signing Fofana. But the arrival and impact of Christos Tzolis after coming in to replace Leandro Trossard ultimately meant they decide to go without another arrival following the failure to land Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.
Arteta brought in Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, Illan Meslier and Piero Hincapie in the summer and has continually stressed the need for balance. "That's what we are trying to get as a club but the balance has to be right," Arteta said recently. "There are areas that we have to improve to hit those numbers. And if it's not with sales, because maybe we don't want.
"We have to sell what we want to sell as well, not just to sell. And then when we want to sell as well, we have to be very careful because some of the assets, after maybe they grow and we still want them."
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