Gareth Southgate has broken the silence over the omission of Folarin Balogun for England's senior squad for the international break, revealing the latest on his future with the Three Lions.
The Arsenal loanee has had a stellar season in France with Stade de Reims under social media sensation Will Still, scoring 17 goals and outperforming Lionel Messi and Neymar in the charts too. At 21 Balogun wouldn't have been the only youngster included in England's squad but the forward is yet to get the nod in the senior side.
It comes at a time that his national allegiances remain up in the air. Balogun was born in New York and is eligible for a place in the USMNT set-up. He has also played once for their youth side despite spending most of his junior days in the England camps.
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Now, with Harry Kane, Callum Wilson and Ivan Toney all in front of him for the central role under Southgate, Balogun has a big choice to make. USMNT have room for a star striker, and have made no attempts to hide their admiration for the player either. Only earlier this week interim boss Anthony Hudson said: "As I said before, we've had dialogue we've spoken.
"He's out here, having a bit of a break and some training, and we've had some discussions. So yeah, now it's about him just enjoying the rest of his trip." Balogun has been spotted in Orlando, not far away from the US training camp for this fortnight.
"It's been good, because it's been an opportunity for us just to share about our program and who we are and what we do," Hudson added. "And look, that's it, I hope we get the chance to speak to him again. So it's been good to meet him, and I know a few of the guys who have spoke to him as well."
Southgate, who also had fellow Hale End graduate Eddie Nketiah to add into the mix of strikers available to him, opened up on Balogun and his future, admitting: "It is up to the player to weigh up where his heart feels. Is he prepared to wait a little bit for an opportunity if he backs himself and feels he can push his way into our squad? Because anybody who has followed us will know that we will give young players a chance.
“So, we cannot go and give first-team call-ups to someone just because we don’t want them to go somewhere else."
The England boss also compared the stance taken with Brentford forward Toney, saying: “We like Flo. He has obviously not had an opportunity in the Premier League yet, so we have to weigh up those goals to Ivan [Toney], for example, or Ollie Watkins. Or Eddie Nketiah, who has done really well with the opportunity he has had at Arsenal.
“I know there are going to be offers as 80 per cent of our players can play for more than one country now, and we are not arrogant expecting everybody to want to come to play for England. We have to make them feel wanted and feel part of that.
“Ultimately, it does not matter what you say. If you cannot give them the opportunity now, then some people are patient and want to see it through and are prepared to wait a bit and others want it now and I can totally understand that.”
The World Cup semi-finalist hasn't spoken to Balogun about it though. “I haven’t yet because to this point, he has been with the U21s,” Southgate explained. “I am very happy. Clearly, other nations have been quite aggressive in their recruitment and what they are offering.
“That, in my experience of history, has been really successful for the players and sometimes hasn’t worked out. Countries cap players at 16 or 17 and they disappear. In the end, as a player, I think you back yourself but you have to ultimately make the decision.
“We would like him to give it some time and if he is progressing the way he is and continues that progression there will be opportunities for him but I cannot offer him that this week. I think if we did, I don’t think that would be fair on Ivan Toney who has scored the goals he has in the Premier League.”
Balogun now has time to wait until he is next back in action, having a week off before Ligue 1 duties resume. England face Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday, whilst USMNT look to win their CONCACAF Nations League group with a game against El Salvador on Tuesday.
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