The day started with Arsenal weighing up whether or not to move for the 21-year-old - as reported this morning by Flashscore - but quickly descended into chaos.
Sunderland reportedly agreed a deal worth over £30 million for Fofana, with Lyon giving him permission to travel for a medical.
Not long after those reports, though, news emerged that Crystal Palace were looking to hijack the deal and had also agreed a fee - leaving Fofana waiting at an airport with two planes scheduled; one for London, one for Wearside.
It looked likely that the winger was going to opt to meet up again with past manager Pierre Sage at Selhurst Park and the Black Cats even reportedly started to line up other targets (Benfica's Dodi Lukebakio), only for a fresh twist to emerge.
Reports from France suggest that Sunderland increased their offer to the player's agent and that Fofana will now join the Black Cats again as originally planned.
Sky Sports have said that plans are in place for a medical to be conducted in France ahead of the winger joining the club, but Crystal Palace are not completely out of the race yet - although the Daily Mail has credited them with a potential move for FC Midtjylland forward Dario Osorio instead.
No move is yet guaranteed, though, in what is turning into one of the strangest Deadline Day sagas in recent memory.