Malick Fofana has reportedly made his decision after a bizarre transfer saga that today saw him undergo a medical jointly commissioned by Sunderland and Crystal Palace.

The 21-year-old has apparently now decided to join Sunderland instead of Palace, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri.

See below for the latest on this crazy story, with Fofana now said to have rejected Palace in favour of Sunderland, despite the Eagles’ best efforts…

?? Malick Fofana a fait son choix.

??? Le Belge va rejoindre Sunderland.

C'est ferme et définitif. Fin de l'histoire. #SAFC pic.twitter.com/k3hbJ4pV2v

— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) September 1, 2026

See below as the Guardian’s Ed Aarons has also reported on this story, explaining the slightly bizarre situation involving Fofana having a medical without yet actually knowing which club he would be joining…

Lyon’s Malick Fofana has undergone a medical in France jointly commissioned by Sunderland and Crystal Palace as their tug of war continues. Two private jets still wait at Lyon airport, waiting to transport him to either south London or the north east https://t.co/5mBbgCnl5U

— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) September 1, 2026

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Malick Fofana had also been on Arsenal’s radar

Outlets such as BBC Sport also reported on Arsenal’s interest in Fofana yesterday, but it seems the club were not entirely united on the idea of recruiting the Belgium international.

As a result, Fofana will now be making another move, and it looks like that will be Sunderland, despite Palace also pursuing him.

Overall, Arsenal fans probably won’t regret missing out on Fofana too much, especially compared to other failed targets such as Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior.

Malick Fofana with the Belgium national team (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)

Still, Arsenal don’t have enough depth in attack after losing the likes of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus, while Ethan Nwaneri has gone out on loan.

Gabriel Martinelli, meanwhile, is also expected to complete a move to Al Hilal, as per the Athletic.

There would surely have been room for Fofana to come in and give Mikel Arteta a little more in the way of options to rotate.

AFC are now relying on there being some options available to come in when the transfer window opens again in January.