With Everton prioritising attacking options in this summer’s transfer window, Folarin Balogun has emerged as the latest name linked with the Blues but what might he offer Sean Dyche’s side?
Funds are understood to be tight at Everton with Financial Fair Play restrictions continuing to bite but the club have raised almost £70million this year already by offloading Anthony Gordon and Moise Kean to Newcastle United and Juventus respectively. Balogun has two years left on his Arsenal contract but after spending the past 18 months out on loan, the Gunners are eager to cash in on him this summer rather than sending him out on another temporary switch.
A report by 90min claims that Everton have made contact with the 21-year-old’s representatives, alongside Premier League rivals Brentford, Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Ham United while several European sides have expressed interest in the £30million-rated striker. Balogun, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to London when he was just two years old, has been capped twice by the USA and has one international goal.
Although his scoring totals in England so far have been modest, with two goals – both in the Europa League – in 10 matches for Arsenal and three in 20 games on loan at Middlesbrough, he enjoyed a breakthrough season at Stade de Reims in 2022/23, netting 22 times in 39 outings. Using Comparisonator’s Virtual Transfer tool, we can correlate Balogun’s statistics for Reims last term against strikers already plying their trade in the Premier League.
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What might prove most interesting – and potentially useful – for an Everton team that collectively scored just 34 goals in 38 games, only Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez (4.04) got in more shots per 90 minutes last season than Balogun’s 3.61 which puts him ahead of Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic (3.43) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (3.39). Indeed, his overall play produces an expected goals figure of 0.8, a number that only the aforementioned Haaland (0.84) can top with Callum Wilson of Newcastle United also on 0.8.
When it comes to shots on target, Balogun’s figures from Ligue 1 (1.55) would place him fifth in the Premier League in a category also topped by Haaland (1.77) while he’d be seventh for attacking actions (8.04 with Marcus Rashford of Manchester United top on 9.83) and touches in the box (4.79 with Nunez first on 6.65). He also makes a top 10 appearance for successful attacking actions, where he’s ranked eighth with 3.5 (Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal is top on 4.46).
As well as finishing himself, Balogun can also pick out others and would be rated sixth for key passes with 0.56, a section topped by Aston Villa’s Emiliano Buendia on 0.75. He’s also seventh for successful key passes on 0.54, a category also led by Buendia with 0.75.
He isn’t shy of a one-on-one battle either and is fifth for offensive duels on 12.6 (Jesus is first on 16.2 ahead of Everton’s Demarai Gray in second with 14.85) and his 4.57 offensive duels won puts him eighth although Gray tops the lot on 6.86. In several respects, Balogun looks like the kind of youthful promise that the Blues could look to in this key position. Question marks will inevitably arise over both the price tag and whether he can replicate his form on the continent back in the Premier League but these are the types of gambles you have to make when trying to strike a favourable deal.
Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
