Folarin Balogun’s Future Hangs in the Balance
Speculations surrounding the future of Arsenal’s promising talent, Folarin Balogun, has been increasing this week, with Inter Milan reportedly eyeing a £35m bid for the young striker. Reports that Balogun is training separately from the rest of his team-mates at Arsenal’s LA training base has only added fuel to the transfer rumors.
The 21-year-old forward, who recently earned his first call-up to the United States national team, showcased his potential during an impressive loan spell at French club Stade Reims. With the Gunners’ recent signing of Kai Havertz and established talents like Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah occupying the central forward positions, Balogun might be considering a move away from the Emirates Stadium to secure more regular playing time.
The club has reportedly set a hefty price tag of £50m for Balogun, reflecting their belief in his potential and talents.
For Arsenal, the situation presents a delicate balance between nurturing young talents and ensuring the team remains competitive. Balogun’s departure would be a significant loss, but it might also provide an opportunity for the Gunners to reinvest in other areas of the squad.
As the transfer window unfolds, Arsenal fans anxiously await the final decision on Balogun’s future. Whatever the outcome, it is crucial for both the club and the player to make the right decision that benefits all parties involved.
Personally I would prefer that he stays, but it looks like there is more chance of him leaving at the moment…
Sam P
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If he does leave hopefully the funds invested in a new striker. A top striker offering something different than Jesus.
Jesus can play on RW and we have Nelson, both can rotate with Saka.
With Partey staying, striker is the final piece we need to really challenge for the title and CL.
40 million euros would be enough if there are hefty clauses, like sell on clauses etc.
I’ve actually changed my view and would prefer him to stay and be given a chance – the likelihood of him actually at least somewhat living up to the hype might be greater than I’d thought – but if he does go, we do need a new striker imo. Nketiah doesn’t seem able to hold a place down for any great length of time, and while trossard is good, I’d rather he was playing wide or behind a striker and just use him there in emergencies.
My opinion is that I want Balogun to stay and fight for a place. He will no doubt get opportunities. Just imagine if Jesus has a relapse of his knee injury and is out for a few months, that will leave is Nketia to fight on all fronts. Yes I know we could use Trossard or Havertz as a false nine but I don’t think that’s ideal. If Balogun can keep finding the net for us, there is no reason he can’t become a regular starter and dislodge Jesus from the line up. What’s more, even if we get £40-50M for Balogun, who would we replace him with for that money? Just my 2 pence worth.
Zinchenko worked separately from the team too,in the same day.does that mean he is for sale.Balo probably needs to work on body strength/physique.he just spent a year in France,where players spend much less time in the gym.
From the little have seen in preseason of Balogun he has come across pretty good without scoring, it’s unfortunate as the problem is phase 4 has less room for untested players.
The fact that he’s more marketable than Nketiah will usher him in the transfer window, have warmed to him a little, think am going to sit on the fence for this one.
@Gunsmoke do you think it’s logical that we sold Balo who is better than Nketiah simply because he is more marketable.
What would be the rationale of keeping an inferior player who offers nothing special to the team simply because he isn’t marketable at the expense of a better player?
Cliff
It’s not logical but it is what it is, personally he’s not my cup of tea but he offers far more than Eddie, in the two games have seen him in recently, in fact that’s the only two games have ever seen him in an Arsenal shirt I can remember.
He looks sharp, his running off the ball is excellent, his running behind is superb.
He seems pretty clever but am not the gaffer and it’s only two games, honestly it does looks like there is more to come from him.
In my opinion his marketability is the main reason if not the only reason why he will be sold ahead of his team mate.
I wouldn’t sell atleast not yet, but am just an armchair manager.
Oh, the rational Balogun critics will use is that they rather stick to the evil they knows
I would sell Eddie before Balogun. Going into what will be a tough PL and UCL season with Eddie as the second striker is asking for trouble. Arteta has gambled and spent a lot of money on Havertz, Rice and Timber. I think the latter two will do fine, but I have serious doubts about Havertz. He neither defends nor attack and his signing will come back to bite Arteta. I hope I am wrong though.
There’s a glaring lack of critical thinking at Arsenal. We buy all the rejects from Chelsea (Luiz, Willian, Nketiah, Jorginho, Gallahs) and (we give them Ashley Cole, Fabrigas, Anelka, Girrhou). Now we have a tested academy graduate in Balogun, and we decide to sell him and keep the reject.