ARSENAL and Folarin Balogun will reportedly hold “crunch talks” over his future this summer as Paris Saint-Germain plot a shock transfer swoop for the forward.
The 21-year-old England Under-21 international, who is also eligible for both USA and Nigeria, has been in sensational form this season.
After struggling to break into the first-team under Mikel Arteta and then only scoring three goals during a loan stint at Middlesbrough last term, he has transformed himself into one of Europe’s sharpshooters this campaign.
Balogun joined French side Reims on a season-long loan last summer, and the ace has gone on to score 19 goals in all competitions for the French side.
And that has led to a host of clubs starting to take an interest in the hotshot – with PSG now reported to be keen on snapping him up.
The New York native is under contract with the Gunners until 2025.
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And Arteta is determined to bolster his own attack in the summer window by bringing in reinforcements to help out Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
However, Football London says that Balogun “may well decide to pursue a permanent transfer elsewhere, though, because of how high his profile is after a superb season” across the Channel.
They add that he “will instigate talks with his parent club about his future when the current campaign ends”.
They also state that he is currently valued at £13.6million by the CIES Football Observatory but Arsenal would “likely demand a higher fee” for the striker.
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Discussing Balogun’s phenomenal form back in February, Arteta said: “I’m so happy for him.
“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 and 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.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
