Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will make a decision on the future of Folarin Balogun after giving him a chance to impress on their pre-season tour of the United States.
The striker’s Gunners future has been subject to increasing doubt despite a prolific loan spell last term in which he scored 22 goals in 39 matches during a season-long stint in France with Ligue 1 side Reims.
Balogun wants to secure a regular starting role next season and that is unlikely to come at Arsenal amid fierce competition for places for that central forward role from the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, while he is unwilling to go out on loan again after also spending time in the Championship at Middlesbrough last year.
Arsenal are ready to cash in on the 22-year-old as a result, with Inter Milan having now made him their top striker target for the summer after walking away from talks with Chelsea over a permanent deal for former loanee Romelu Lukaku amid rival interest from Juventus.
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Inter cannot meet Balogun’s £50million asking price, though Standard Sport understands that they could drive down the cost by inserting a buy-back clause into the deal or else offer a favourable percentage of any future sale.
However, Arteta remains a big fan of a player who now represents the United States at international level after switching his allegiance from England and scored on his senior debut for the USMNT last month.
Balogun, who featured off the bench for Arsenal in their 1-1 friendly draw against Nurnberg last week, will now get the chance to impress further across the Atlantic in upcoming matches against a Major League Soccer (MLS) All-Star XI, Manchester United and Barcelona, before a final decision is then made over his future.
Asked for his thoughts on Balogun and if he was going to stay at Arsenal this summer, Gunners boss Arteta said: “Great, because he’s done incredibly well and now we have to think what is best to do.
“We want to see him, we want to experience him in the next few games. He played the last game against Nurnberg and he will do again in the next few games. Then we will make the best decision.”
