Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun heads back to the United States to face what could be a secret strategy to convince the striker to stay at the club despite links to Inter Milan.
Folarin Balogun has perhaps not felt in the most Arsenal frame of mind over the past 18 months. Two loan spells with little to encourage him of a future in north London has meant that this summer an inevitability about a decision is coming, one which could define his career.
He has two options:stay and fight for his place amongst the likes of Gabriel Jesus, or be sold for a significant fee in search of more guarantees over a starting spot.
He is not short of suitors with Inter Milan and RB Leipzig amongst those understood to be interested in potentially signing the USMNT’s new main striker.The former is particularly hot on the striker’s profile with some ɾєρօɾτs suggesting an initial bid could be imminent.
However, there remains an openness to see how he performs in pre-season. In the match against Nurnberg, Balogun had two great opportunities to score, hitting the post with the first before rounding the keeper for the second but spinning his shot into the side netting.
Playing in the States this summer will surely give Balogun a serious amount of attention considering his recent switch of allegiance in international football. He’s considered the most valuable United States player on the ρłɑɴet at present regarding transfer value, and playing in an Arsenal shirt whilst receiving all the love from his American fɑɴȿ could have a knock-on effect on his vision of success in north London.
Arsenal have three Americans in the group when adding Balogun to Matt Turner and Auston Trusty.However, Trusty too has been linked with a permanent exit this summer which could mean two-thirds of the American representation in the club owned by Kroenke Sports Entertainment departing.
Selling a player who has been developed from the academy represents excellent value financially, with there being no previous transfer fee associated with the player. Yet, for many supporters, it has been a firm desire to see how Balogun would fare in an Arsenal shirt next season.
Few can deny the presence of Gabriel Jesus makes this somewhat difficult. The Brazilian scored 11 goals in his first Premier League season with Arsenal despite missing a third thɾօυɢҺ a serious knee ιɴjυɾу, adding seven assists to take his tally to 18 goal contributions.
The Brazilian is stylistically far more suited to the collaborative philosophy and approach that Arteta has cultivated at the club. Whereas Balogun is much more of a traditional No.9, running onto passes to score.
But then this does add variation to what Mikel Arteta would have at his disposal. Time will tell, but it will be interesting to see how featuring in the States for Arsenal impacts his view of his club’s future.
