How Sunderland could have signed an upgrade on Fofana & Lukebakio

The joys of the transfer window, eh? For Sunderland, deadline day was a roller-coaster ride.

Early in the day, the Black Cats agreed a deal to sign Malick Fofana from Lyon. Yet, Premier League rivals Crystal Palace entered the conversation, looking to hijack a deal.

REUTERS/Alexandre Dimou

Palace were confident that new manager Pierre Sage, someone who had worked with Fofana, was going to be able to entice him to Selhurst Park instead.

In the end, the player chose Sunderland, but not before undergoing medicals in France for both teams.

At the same time, they also pursued Benfica’s Dodi Lukebakio but the trail went cold on that one.

Why Sunderland signed Fofana over Lukebakio

The profile of winger Sunderland were chasing on deadline day was clear; they wanted a maverick, a strong carrier of the ball, someone with elite dribbling skills.

Well, both Fofana and Lukebakio fitted into that category. The latter, aged 28, is in the prime of his career and while he did only score twice for Benfica last term, he did rank among the top 4% of wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for successful dribbles per 90 with a whopping 3.26. He also ranked as highly as the top 3% for progressive carries with 5.92 per 90.

On that evidence, the winger would have been a real livewire down the flanks for Sunderland. Yet, Fofana was their man.

At the age of 21, he’s got promise and plenty of potential. This is someone with re-sale value, a player who can grow further, unlike Lukebakio.

Like the Benfica man, Fofana only scored twice last season, but in 2024/25, there was real promise. The youngster bagged 11 goals and ranked among the finest 12% of wingers in Europe for progressive carries per 90.

All that said, did Le Bris and Co actually miss out on even better forward than the pair of them?

Sunderland miss out on £30m deadline day signing

In what was a busy day for the Mackems, Fofana and Lukebakio were not the only players that were targeted.

Reports in Germany at around 10pm revealed how Augsburg’s Alexis Claude-Maurice had emerged as a late target and was the subject of a written offer.

An offer was also lodged for Leeds United’s Noah Okafor. Sunderland approached the Elland Road side with a “last-minute” £30m proposal but it was met with rejection from both the player and club.

This would have been a captivating late arrival for Sunderland, not least because Okafor is proven in the Premier League, something that Lukebakio and Fofana are not, but also because he’s just a better all-round talent.

While the Swiss was something of a streaky player during his first year in English football, he did finish 2025/26 with six goals and an assist in his last seven matches.

An in-depth look at the data further outlines the level of talent Sunderland missed out on here.

Truth be told, there is not a lot to separate between Okafor and Fofana when it comes to the key stats for a wide player. They take a similar number of shots and also produce a near identical level of progressive actions, whether it be via passing or carrying.

The biggest difference lies in their dribbling ability. They’re both mavericks but the Leeds attacker is far more productive in this regard. His output as well is far greater.

The Switzerland international ended his first campaign in Yorkshrie with eight goals and three assists, albeit seven of those involvements came in the final two months of the season.

He’s one of the form wingers in English football and would have represented a major addition for Le Bris had they pulled it off.