According to Football.London, Arsenal are sticking firm to their £8m price tag for attacking talent Folarin Balogun, with the ace wishing to leave the Gunners.
Football.London reiterate that the 19-year-old has told the north London outfit that he will not be signing a new contract with them, the ace’s deal expires next summer.
It’s added that Championship side Brentford and attacking Premier League outfit Southampton are leading the race for Balogun’s signature, with Stuttgart amongst the European sides that are keen on the English-American.
Balogun isn’t the only promising forward that the Gunners look set to lose in the near future with the Athletic (subscription required), reporting that Sam Greenwood is close to joining Leeds in a £3m deal.
Balogun has been very prolific for the Gunners at youth level, the ace contributed 38 goals and 8 assists for the Under-18s, with the ace now the focal point of the Under-23s side.
The seemingly natural goalscorer, who has represented both the USA and England at youth level, has bagged 10 goals and provided four assists in just 16 outings for the Under-23s this season.
Whilst Balogun seems like a very promising talent, it may be wise for the Gunners to cash in one the ace given their current financial status, especially as a path to the first-team is blocked.
Mikel Arteta’s prime forward options are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, with Balogun’s fellow academy graduate Eddie Nketiah the side’s backup centre-forward.
It will be interesting to see if Arsenal will manage to have their £8m valuation met in a transfer market that has been massively affected by the financial impacts to clubs due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mikel should not allowed Balogun instead he has to give him test in first team.