Lorient Vice President Alex Hayes has labelled Sunderland's conduct over the transfer of Ivorian defender Lamine Kone as 'scandalous', as it emerged this morning that the player would not be sealing a transfer to the Premier League outfit as the Ligue 1 club had expected.
An initial bid of around £5 million was accepted by Lorient and Kone had even travelled to the north-east to discuss the terms of his contract as well as beginning his medical examination. However, the deal fell through at the last minute due to an inability between the two parties to agree upon a suitable contract for the player.
Speaking to Le Telegramme in France, Haye remarked that they had given their 'approval' to Sunderland and Kone had travelled to Wearside, but the negotiations were 'delayed' to the Bank Holiday.
Hayes also stated that he felt the now finalised transfer of Jan Kirchhoff from Bayern Munich may have caused Sunderland to have a change of heart about the deal for Kone.
The Vice President also stated that he is looking into possible legal action against Sam Allardyce's side because of the game that Kone missed against Tours and will miss against Stade de Rennais, due to the now failed transfer.
Differing demands
Despite the fall through of this deal, the player himself has refused to rule out an eventual transfer to England in the January window, should circumstances change.
The player's agent also said that there has been interest from other clubs in the Premier League, so a deal could still go through with another club even if Sunderland do not go back in for him.
With Norwich City also said to be interested, his agent revealed that Sunderland were chosen due to being most in need of a defender.