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Even by Sunderland standards the on-off Lamine Kone deal has been quite the transfer saga but the club have finally completed the signing of the Lorient central defender.
Sam Allardyce appeared to have captured Kone early in the window, with the 26-year-old spending a week or so on Wearside but the defender returned to France when the deal broke down, the move was surprisingly resurrected a week or so later as a loan deal with a view to a permanent deal but that again broke down, only for the club to finally tie up a deal for the player today.
Kone has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Sunderland and speaking to safc.com about the signing, Allardyce said;
Strengthening our defensive options was a priority for us and Lamine is a player that has impressed me when I've seen him play.
He is big and strong, attributes you need to play in central defence in the Premier League, and his arrival will give us healthy competition for places in a key position.
Kone's arrival will give Sunderland a boost defensively, with Jan Kirchhoff still short of match fitness, Younes Kaboul out injured and Sebastian Coates set to depart, with the Uruguayan international edging closer to a move to Sporting CP.