Sunderland signed Malick Fofana on deadline day after a dramatic tussle with Crystal Palace

Florent Ghisolfi says Sunderland never wavered in their desire to sign Malick Fofana despite Crystal Palace's late bid to try and sign the winger.

Fofana's move from Lyon was the most dramatic story of deadline day, with the Black Cats agreeing a deal with the Ligue 1 club and the player early on. However, Crystal Palace made the move to reunite Fofana with his former coach Pierre Sage and at one stage looked likely to win the race. The deal hung in the balance for much of the day, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus flying to Lyon to help secure the deal. Fofana underwent his medical in Lyon, with Sunderland able to close the transfer after submitting a deal sheet to gain extra time from the Premier League.

The nature of how the move unfolded led some to understandably question Fofana's commitment to the move and while Ghisolfi admitted the saga did not reflect well on the football industry, he fiercely defended the player. The director of football made clear there was no issue with Fofana's conduct during the saga and that the club always felt he wanted the move to Sunderland.

Asked if the club had any reservation at any stage on proceeding with the deal, Ghisolfi told The Echo: "It's a very good question - but you have to know that when we move forward on a player even if it's the last day of the window, we know the mentality and we know the personality exactly. Exactly. With every player on our shortlist, we know exactly the personality. And we knew that Malick is a top kid, he is a top kid.So unfortunately in football this type of situation can happen now and I'm sorry for that. It doesn't give a good image of the football industry for sure but it can happen. You have to fight also in this type of situation as a club. It shows, as the manager said, the alignment and the commitment of everyone in the club. But the most important thing, we know that he is a top kid. He has a top mentality, and he will fit with Sunderland 100%."

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Some reports claimed in the latter stages of deadline day that Crystal Palace had backed away from the deal due to an apparent ankle issue identified in the medical process, but Ghisolfi rejected that entirely.

"There is no issue, and I think it's fair [Crystal Palace to cover themselves, it's not a problem," Ghisolfi said.

"But me, I need to protect my player and I can say that he has zero issue. We won [the race' this time, maybe we'll lose another time, but we are very happy because he is exactly what we need today."

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