Great run, great pass, great strike and a great goal. Folarin Balogun officially announced himself on the senior international stage by scoring in the CONCACAF Nations League final between the USMNT and Canada.
It was difficult to watch the game and not think that Arsenal need to find a place for this talented young striker in the team next season. The sheer volume of clubs interested in the 21-year-old is enough to show how highly rated he is among Europe’s elite like Champions League finalists Inter Milan, DFB Pokal winners RB Leipzig and Europa League finalists Roma.
From an Arsenal perspective, the hunt for Kai Havertz could create a further obstacle for Balogun. However, the potential for the German international to play in a variety of different positions could keep the door open.
The real issue is the presence of both Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, more notably the latter. For both young forwards the pathway into the Arsenal side has been blocked hence the recent two loan spells the latter of which saw Balogun score 22 goals in 39 appearances for Reims.
Eddie Nketiah came in for the injured Jesus during the midpoint of the season and scored important goals against Manchester United and away at Brighton, however in every substitute appearance he failed to get on the scoresheet. Notably missing a big chance at Southampton which would have given the Gunners the lead.
With two years left on Balogun’s deal it is as if the club are at a crossroads. Balogun admitted after the win in the Nations League final that he had no intention of going on loan.
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“I’m not sure about the discussions that are going to take place,” he said. “What I can say is that I definitely won’t go on loan again.”
This means Arsenal need to either sell Balogun, renew his contract or risk him falling down to one year left on his deal causing a significant decrease in value on the market. From a personal perspective, Balogun appears to have too much talent to risk losing for a fee that would, in this current transfer market at least, potentially double after just one more solid goalscoring season.
Arteta has shown to give second chances to players like Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny and even Eddie Nketiah. The Spaniard needs to find a way of replicating this with Balogun and add a potential high-scoring forward to his existing options.
What this means for Nketiah though could be he instead needs to be sold. Arsenal should be able to make a good fee, considering his recent fresh renewal and his decent form in the league last season.
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