Stade Des Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot has admitted that his side ‘will ask the question’ about Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun’s future beyond this season, though he expects it to be ‘impossible’ to keep hold of the 21-year-old and is already turning his attention towards finding the next young star.
Balogun has taken Ligue 1 by storm during his loan spell with Reims, having scored 15 goals in 23 games across the French top flight, sitting joint with Kylian Mbappe and Jonathan David atop the golden boot standings and having had a hand in over 50% of Reims’ goals this campaign.
And English boss Will Still has been particularly effusive of his praise towards the youngster. “He is a super complete striker,” the 31-year-old boss told the media. “He is able to play with his back to goal and is technically very clean. He scores, he is decisive.”
🏴 Goal number 15 this season for Ligue 1’s top scorer Folarin Balogun! pic.twitter.com/0aNp6IXJcY
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) February 13, 2023
That has not gone unnoticed, with Premier League clubs reportedly circling should he become available this summer. As a result, Caillot sees it as an almost impossible task to keep his side’s top goalscorer at the club for another season.
“I think it’s impossible”, he told French outlet FranceBleu when asked about the chances of keeping him. “The rules of the game are very clear: these are boys who, when they join us, know that they are there to improve themselves and this is a stage for them. “
“So even if I don’t decide for him, either Folarin will return to his club Arsenal to have his chance, or he will be loaned out again or even transferred to a very high-level club.”
“But hey, if he and his club agree to do another year at Stade de Reims, we will do everything to make it happen.”
With Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus both currently ahead of Balogun in the north London pecking order, his long-term future remains unclear, but it seems to lie away from the club where he has earnt his senior stripes.
