Here we go! AC Milan midfielder seals sensational Ligue 1 return on deadline day
The final hours of the transfer window have delivered a genuine bombshell in France: Olympique Lyon have struck a deal with AC Milan for French international midfielder Youssouf Fofana.
Details: According to Fabrizio Romano, Lyon have reached a full agreement with AC Milan for the 27 year old midfielder. As Fabrice Hawkins first reported, all details were sorted today and Fofana personally gave the green light to the move. The transfer takes the form of a loan with a €12 million buy option clause.
For Fofana, this is a return to the championship where he made his name. The Paris born midfielder first broke through at Strasbourg, then truly exploded at Monaco, who paid €15 million for him in January 2020. Across four and a half seasons in the Principality he racked up 175 appearances and seven goals, earned his first France caps and eventually secured a move to Milan in the summer of 2024 for around €25 million including bonuses, signing a contract until 2028. His adventure at San Siro, however, never fully took off: last season he recorded two goals and three assists in 33 Serie A matches and gradually slipped down the pecking order. This deadline day was anything but calm as well. Milan and Lyon spent hours stuck on the split of the player's salary, with Gianluca Di Marzio reporting snags that threatened to collapse everything before the 20:00 CEST cutoff, while Galatasaray and Roma also lurked in the background. In the end, Lyon's persistence and Fofana's own desire to return home made all the difference.
It's worth noting that Fofana arrives at Groupama Stadium on the very day Lyon waved goodbye to another Fofana: winger Malick Fofana is heading to England to complete a €30 million move to Sunderland, so the Lyon faithful are effectively swapping one Fofana for another on a wild deadline day.
Reminder: Here we go! Sunderland pull off stunning coup for Lyon winger Fofana.
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
