The future surrounding breaking startler Folarin Balogun remains a hot-button topic in the Arsenal and United States national team discussion circuit this summer after the 21-year-old continues to impress in the midst of a superb 2022-23 season at club level.
Balogun took his chance at former French giant Stade de Reims with both hands during a loan spell under Will Still at Stade Auguste-Delaune during the first true test of his profile in one of Europe’s top five leagues after a bit-part spell at Middlesbrough, finishing the Ligue 1 season with 21 goals and with only Kylian Mbappé, Alexandre Lacazette, and international rival Jonathan David ahead of him in the goalscoring chart.
While some Arsenal fans expect and demand the club to retain the Hale End Academy graduate and integrate him into the senior setup under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates Stadium for the upcoming 2023-24 campaign, the likelihood that the Brooklyn-born forward leaves the club remains considerable amid interest from a number of clubs on the continent.
Speaking on his personal YouTube channel, football insider Fabrizio Romano offered a detailed update surrounding Balogun’s future in north London amid the player’s desires to be viewed as an undeniable first-choice center-forward at club level after switching allegiances to the United States, who he now leads the line for while facing competition from Ricardo Pepi.
FAB TRANSFER UPDATES ON USMNT PLAYERS 🇺🇸🦅 From the Here We Go Podcast, @FabrizioRomano & @podcastherewego report on Americans in European transfer market…🧵
🎙Fab on Balogun🎙 “Balogun confirmed today what we always say. He doesn’t want to go out on loan any more…” 1/7 pic.twitter.com/QwZ8Gs0LUL
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) June 19, 2023
“Balogun confirmed today what we always say. He doesn’t want to go out on loan anymore. He had a very good season on loan in Ligue 1, scoring goals, showing that he’s more than a talent, he’s an important player, an important striker. But now it’s time to go. So there will be meetings between his agents and Arsenal very soon to decide the final asking price.”
“I also have a feeling that there is on both sides the intention to wait a bit to make a decision on the new club because there is kind of [a domino effect for] strikers, with everyone waiting to see who’s going to be the first top striker to move and then he could be part of the dominos. So let’s wait on Arsenal to decide the asking price, and then the situation will be clear. But Crystal Palace, Inter, Milan, Marseille, Monaco, RB Leipzig [are all interested]. So it will be a busy summer for Folarin Balogun.”
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