Chelsea wants to keep expanding its roster of young players, and in order to accomplish so, they have now headed to Arsenal. Folarin Balogun, a striker, recently agreed to personal terms with Chelsea, and negotiations regarding the transfer are still ongoing with Arsenal. Arsenal continue to hold out for a significant amount of money for the attacker, despite the optimism of the Blues that they would be able to reach an agreement.
Arsenal demands £50 million from Chelsea for selling Balogun
The Arsenal wants close to £50 million for the USMNT player. The 22-year-old attracted a lot of interest while playing for Reims in Ligue 1 last season, scoring 21 goals in France’s top division. Chelsea have informed their Premier League opponents that they will not pay more than £30m for the player. Balogun, who has a contract with Arsenal until 2025, has drawn a lot of interest during the summer transfer window. A report revealed that West Ham United are also considering making a move for the midfielder, who David Moyes really likes. Another team that is eager to recruit Balogun quickly is Monaco.
The biggest major barrier to Chelsea’s attempts to sign the USMNT attacker is Monaco. The Ligue 1 club, who recently lost striker Breel Embolo to a serious injury, is willing to pay close to Arsenal’s asking price for Balogun, but personal terms have not yet been agreed upon. Importantly, the forward prefers to sign with Chelsea. Balogun wants to play for the first team. However he is only Arsenal’s third-choice striker because Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus are ahead of him in Arteta’s choice.
Nicolas Jackson joined Chelsea this summer, and in his first few outings, he has shown some potential. Balogun will have to dethrone him for the number nine spot by utilizing all oppurtunities that comes his way. Else he will struggle just as he fought to do the same at Arsenal with Jesus and Nketiah. With so many young players in their squad, Chelsea should have a promising future. But it’s debatable at best whether or not Balogun is the proper choice.
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