Lyon winger Malick Fofana joined Sunderland after a frantic day where at one stage it looked like Crystal Palace were going to hijack the deal.
Fofana, 21, ended up being one of the stories of transfer deadline day as both Sunderland and Crystal Palace chased his signature.
Fofana had been linked with a move to Premier League champions Arsenal and was offered to them on Monday, sources told ESPN. Sunderland then emerged as the most likely suitors to Fofana on Tuesday and sources told ESPN they were confident they'd got a deal done which would see the Belgian international sign a five-year deal for a fee of €30 million up front, and €5m in add-ons.
Palace then tried to gazump the deal and sources told ESPN Fofana was tempted by the move to London. All the while he stayed in Lyon as he weighed up his future.
After protracted negotiations between Fofana, his camp, and both teams, Sunderland edged the race to sign the much-admired winger. The signing came as a sizeable coup for Sunderland with Fofana on the radar of several clubs in Europe.
Kevin Danso has signed Sunderland on a season-long loan deal, with sources telling ESPN they have an option to make the move permanent for £25m.
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Information from ESPN's James Olley contributed to this report.
