Arsenal star Folarin Balogun is the talk of the town after his explosion onto the scene at in France. The 21-year-old striker has bagged 17 goals on loan at Stade de Reims and is outdoing Lionel Messi and Neymar in the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts.
His performances come at a timely point for the Hale End graduate too with Eddie Nketiah stamping his foot down on a first team place at the Emirates Stadium. Meanwhile, a long-term role in the centre of the attack in north London could present itself as Gabriel Jesus continues to be flexible across the frontline.
Balogun only scored three goals at Championship side Middlesbrough last term and appeared to be at a crossroads but his form this term has seen him rise to European prominence. It has also coincided with a key decision that could have a big impact on the rest of his career.
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As a New York-born player, Balogun is eligible to play for the USMNT and has already made an appearance for the American youth side. It was over five years ago but he was capped four times at Under-18 level despite being committed to England's youth setup before and after that.
He is yet to be given a senior appearance for either nation but missed out on Gareth Southgate's squad for the most recent international break with Harry Kane and Ivan Toney preferred. Amongst his competition for a spot with the Three Lions is Callum Wilson, Ollie Watkins, Tammy Abraham and even the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Nketiah himself is in this camp having not yet played for the senior side. The 23-year-old has been a consistent pick for the youth sides in his time, scoring 35 times for his country outside of the senior setup.
Balogun has 12 goals in 28 games at junior level too. Having been left out of Southgate's squad, Lee Carsley did include him in the Under-21s team but then had the forward taken out due to injury. It has only added further uncertainty to the situation though with Balogun appearing in America whilst the USMNT were preparing for their latest fixtures.
When asked about this, 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 was in Orlando, the same location as the training base for USMNT.
'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 explained. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened either with former Arsenal youth player Yunus Musah choosing to play for USA rather than Ghana.
Allowing players in and around the camp has worked before and that this is the ultimate ambition with Balogun too. He has also made quite the impact on his potential new teammates with Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner revealing conversations he has had. “I've spoken to Flo," he said. "We obviously had most of our pre-season together and I knew going into it that he had some roots in the U.S., so he and I developed a relationship pretty quickly.
"That's pretty much the extent of it. We check in on each other here and there. He'd be a great addition to our national team. I think he's done really well, obviously, for his club on loan, and we'll see.
"The decision has to come from the heart because it's not necessarily an easy task always to come and play in these CONCACAF games. It's a tough region at times. So for us, we'd be really grateful to have him but his heart needs to be in it.”
Meanwhile stand-in captain Christian Pulisic has also offered some perspective. "I haven't really spoken to him personally," the Hershey-born winger said. "I know some of the guys that know him from previous teams or whatever have reached out to him and spoken to him. "From our side, we'd love to have him."
Balogun has advice coming from all sides though with Emile Smith Rowe giving some thoughts from the England side of things, saying after England's Under-21s beat France 4-0: "Of course [I would prefer him to stay with England], but obviously it’s his decision. That’s down to him to what he wants to do. It would be nice if he could be with us in the summer but like I said, that’s down to him and he’s got to do what’s best for him.”
The other person to make their stance clear is boss of that team Carsley. "I spoke to Flo on Monday," the former midfielder said last week. "He obviously completed 90 minutes on Sunday, felt his right hamstring an injury that he’s had previously.
"The doctor has confirmed that with our doctor. So you can only take what they’re saying to be accurate. I then spoke to Flo on the phone, asked him if everything was OK. We spoke about the injury first, but then asked if he’s OK. Yes, fine. No problems.
“He didn’t give me any inkling that there was an issue or that he was thinking of doing anything in the future. He said he is looking forward to the summer and all the rest of it so will obviously follow that up after camp.
"I’ll make sure that I go over (to France). I’ve been to France a couple of times now to watch the players and I’ll make a point of going over and meeting Flo.
"You can’t twist someone’s arms to play for England. You know we can only make him feel as welcome as we can. We rate him highly. We’ve supported him when things weren’t great. We called him into the 21s when he was playing for Arsenal’s Under-23s because I knew what potential he had.
"He had the loan move to Middlesbrough which was OK. He’s done excellent this season, he’s really going in the right direction if you think about the development that he’s on he’s going in the right direction and hopefully we can still be a part of that. He is is big player for us."
Balogun's club future is also uncertain with a pathway not completely clear. "I’ve been watching quite a lot of (Ligue 1) this season because of the three lads that we’ve got there," Carsley added. "Physically, it’s very similar. There’s a lot of athletic, very, very strong players there. And he’s done well. Who knows? I think given the opportunity I’m sure he would do very well."
The man who could change Balogun's situation is ultimately Southgate. "It is up to the player to weigh up where his heart feels," the England boss said. "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. 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% 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.
"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."
Arteta has been impressed with his work though and said earlier this season: “I’m so happy for him,” the Spaniard said. "He’s a boy that has a really clear idea of what he wants to do with his career. He’s really ambitious, really committed and really brave.
"We discussed a lot before he made that move whether it was the right place to go and the other choices he had. He was so convinced. I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.
"When you look at the numbers and what he is doing, it’s just incredible. It’s very rare to see that. But he’s got something special, that’s why we decided to give him a long-term contract and have faith in him and give him the long period that he needs now, because the loan he is having now is really different to the one he had before at Middlesbrough.
"He had some scars from that period. There were moments when he suffered, moments when he played, and when he didn’t. Moments when he played in what he believes is not his best position. He threw all those excuses out and went into the next experience.
"He put that behind him, but using exactly what worked for him, what didn’t work, looked in the mirror and moved to the next one. He’s done that really, really well."
The player himself? When it comes to his future, he isn't making an assertions. "Yeah I mean, contractually I have to go back [to Arsenal.] Because the loan was only for one year so that was always the agreement. I’m not sure what is going to happen in the future. A lot could happen in football, a lot could change.
"And it just depends on the conversations we have between me and the club in the summer, and we’ll see what happens."
Club future and international future up in the air, Balogun will be hoping he can let his performances on the pitch do the talking.
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