Sunderland are racing to conclude at least two transfers before tonight’s deadline

Sunderland are embroiled in one of the most extraordinary deadline-day sagas of recent times as the 11pm deadline draws near.

The Black Cats are racing to strengthen in the final third, and made a major breakthrough earlier today when they agreed a fee with Lyon to sign Belgian international Malick Fofana. The player had said yes to the project and agreed terms on a five-year deal, but had then appeared to change his mind after a late intervention from Crystal Palace. Sunderland's Premier League rivals had been monitoring Fofana's situation in recent weeks and head coach Pierre Sage, who managed the winger at Lyon, appeared to have convinced the 21-year-old to make the switch to Selhurst Park.

No deal was finalised and in the last hour the Black Cats have been given increased hope that they can conclude the deal after all, with multiple reports on the continent stating that Sunderland have made a renewed push. According to L'Equipe, Sunderland have increased their offer to the player's camp to push back ahead in the race. Sources on Wearside have not commented on recent developments and so no final decision on his destination has been made.

Sunderland have been assessing alternative options should they miss out on Fofana, with talks ongoing with Benfica over a deal for 28-year-old Belgian Dodi Lukébakio. The winger is not a like-for-like replacement as he plays primarily off the right-hand side, but has been identified as a potential option.

Eintracht Frankfurt's Jean-Mattéo Bahoya is another name on Sunderland's radar, after the player opted against making a switch to Hull City last week. Sunderland are expected to complete a deal for Spurs defender Kevin Danso before the deadline, with an initial loan expected to include an obligation-to-buy clause should the Black Cats stay up this season.

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The other deals potentially in play before the transfer deadline

Sunderland have been active in trying to secure additional attacking firepower in the closing stages of the window, so another deal is a possibility if seemingly not advanced at this stage.

A number of outgoings are also expected before the deadline, with Luis Hemir having already concluded a switch to Ligue 2 side Clermont. Abdoullah Ba has interest from Sivasspor, and Alan Browne from Preston North End though at time of writing neither deal has been concluded. Ajax have also agreed an initial loan deal to sign Simon Adingra, who is near a return to fitness after an ankle injury. If concluded, it's thought that Ajax will pay a loan fee of around £3 million with an option-to-buy clause of around £13 million included as part of the deal.

It looks set to be a very, very busy final few hours of the window and you can follow it all in our dedicated live blog here