Sunderland have had no luck with their search for a new striker on deadline day.
The Black Cats missed out on Tom Cannon, Alexandre Mendy and Roko Simic this week.
The club were believed to have turned to targets elsewhere and were initially believed to have had a ‘pretty good’ chance of signing Gift Orban from Lyon.
However, the 22-year-old’s inclusion in their match-day squad to face Strasbourg tonight has all but ruled out a move.
Sunderland could be about to miss out on another striker target
Sunderland were linked with one other striker today, having reportedly expressed interest in Chelsea’s David Datro Fofana.
However, they have now faced a blow in their pursuit of the Ivorian.
According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Fofana is ‘weighing up’ a move to Germany before tonight’s deadline.
It’s unclear which Bundesliga club are targeting the 21-year-old, but it could knock him off Sunderland’s shortlist.
Sunderland fans are becoming more concerned as the deadline approaches
After scoring four goals in 15 matches for Burnley last season, Fofana could have been a good addition at Championship level.
However, his name hadn’t been mentioned since this morning’s links and it now comes as no surprise that he is unlikely to move to Wearside.
He may not have been their first choice, but it is becoming extremely frustrating for fans who are so used to missing out on so many strikers over the past year.
It leaves very few names for Sunderland to target in the final three hours of the window, and supporter’s hopes are very quickly dwindling.
The Black Cats have been very good at keeping deals under wraps though, with Chris Mepham’s impending loan arrival coming out of nowhere.
Hopefully the club have a striker on their way and the media are yet to hear about it, but it is looking less promising by the hour.
Sunderland do have Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor on the books, but given that they were reported to be looking to bring in a further two strikers before the deadline, it will be a huge loss if they fail at even one.