Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and club technical director Edu Gaspar remain on the hunt to close a number of key summer additions for the Premier League runner-up but must contend with parting ways with a number of first-team assets, one of whom appears to surely be young striker Folarin Balogun.
The new headline striker for the United States looks all but guaranteed to depart the Emirates this summer as the former England youth international aims to be viewed as first-choice at club level in the wake of a break out 2022-23.
Balogun bagged an impressive 21 goals while on loan in Champagne country at Stade de Reims under young Belgian tactician Will Still, finishing fourth in the goal chart behind only Kylian Mbappé, Alexandre Lacazette, and CONCACAF rival Jonathan David.
As such, if the Gunners are to lose one of the brightest strikers in Europe, the club will no doubt look to extract the highest return possible on one of its brightest academy products, with reports from The Sun detailing Arsenal’s willingness to part ways with Balogun for £35m.
🗞️| Arsenal have put a £35million asking price on striker Folarin Balogun. [@TheSunFootball Exclusive] #afc pic.twitter.com/uWsvyympw8
— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) June 24, 2023
There is hardly a lack of interest in the Brooklyn-born forward, with long-standing links to Inter Milan, AC Milan, RB Leipzig, and Crystal Palace among a number of clubs that could make a formal approach for the Hale End graduate.
With Gabriel Jesus the clear number one center-forward under Arteta, Eddie Nketiah – for now – remaining at the Emirates, and the expected utilization of Leandro Trossard and incoming summer addition Kai Havertz as residual central options, there is little room for Balogun to work his way into the number of minutes that could not only see him continue to progress but guarantee his place in the US team amid competition from PSV Eindhoven-bound Ricardo Pepi.
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