LAMINE KONE will make a decision over his future in the next 24 hours after Sunderland's long-running pursuit of the Lorient defender took yet another twist yesterday.

The Black Cats' pursuit of the Ivory Coast international has broken down on two separate occasions during the current transfer window.

First, Sunderland pulled out of a deal despite Kone having spent the best part of a week at the Academy of Light, then Lorient officials shifted the goalposts after Sam Allardyce attempted to resurrect a deal.

Last week, Allardyce claimed any hopes of an agreement were "dead", but the position has changed yet again with Sebastian Coates set to join Sporting Lisbon on loan for the remainder of the season.

That has created a gap in Sunderland's central defensive ranks, and another round of negotiations yesterday resulted in an agreement with the Lorient hierarchy.

Lorient have accepted an offer of around £5m for the 26-year-old, and Kone has been given a day to decide whether he wants to move to the Stadium of Light.

Lorient vice-president Alex Hayes said: "Sunderland have returned with an offer that we could not refuse.

"The ball now rests in the camp of Lamine Kone. He must make a decision in the coming hours."

Allardyce is hoping to complete two defensive deals before the transfer window closes, with Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy having been offered a loan deal on Wearside.

Debuchy, who made 46 appearances for Newcastle before completing a £12m move to the Emirates in July 2014, has fallen completely out of favour at Arsenal and made just two Premier League starts all season.

He is desperate to secure some regular first-team football in order to push his claims for a place in the France squad for this summer's European Championships, and would be willing to move to Sunderland.

However, Aston Villa are also pushing hard to secure his services and Debuchy is yet to decide on his preferred destination.