After seeing Carney Chukwuemeka become the latest Chelsea star to get injured Mauricio Pochettino is having to consider his attacking options, and the Blues hierarchy now know the price they will need to pay if they want to prise Folarin Balogun from London rivals, Arsenal.
According to the Evening Standard the player is open to a move across the capital, and to that end should Pochettino give the nod, the west Londoners are in a great negotiating position.
Though the Gunners are unlikely to accept less than what they believe is the market value for a player whose contract runs out in June 2025, nor will they want a disruptive presence in their dressing room.
If Balogun stays and then isn’t played, it’s likely that he would become exactly that.
The one issue for the Blues, however, is Arsenal’s apparent insistence that Balogun is worth £50m.
Although he scored 21 league goals in 37 games on loan at Reims last season, per the Evening Standard, he’s never done it in the Premier League.
To that end, even with sale prices for players going through the roof in the current transfer market, £50m may be considered to be too high, despite Chelsea’s evident spending capability under Todd Boehly.
There are still nine days left in which to be able to get a deal over the line, but a softening of their stance on Balogun’s fee from Arsenal might be the only way in which deal one gets moving.