Arsenal ready to cash in on Balogun amid Milan interest

Stuart Telford

• 12 Feb 2023 09:36 GMT
• 3 min read

Folarin Balogun has lit up Ligue 1 on loan at Reims this season with 14 goals from 21 games, but his path to first-team football at parent club Arsenal is blocked…

Balogun joined Reims on loan at the start of the season in search of regular playing time, and has duly outscored Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe to sit proudly atop Ligue 1's goalscoring charts.

But back in London, Gabriel Jesus - last summer's marquee signing from Manchester City - will have recovered from his knee injury by the time Balogun returns, while Eddie Nketiah has been performing admirable in the Brazilian's absence.

READ: Better than Jesus! Balogun is Ligue 1’s top scorer

AC Milan, Marseille and Villarreal reportedly sense an opportunity, and so too, it would seem, do Arsenal.

'Chance to secure a sum'

"Arsenal are expected to decide what is next in their plan for Balogun in the summer, aware that the next window looks set to be the best chance to secure a sum that could represent good value for their academy product, off the back of his prolific Reims spell and also with the time left on his existing contract," report the Daily Mail.

Balogun's existing Arsenal contract runs until June 2025, meaning there is enough time on it for the Gunners to command s significant fee.

READ: Folarin Balogun: Arsenal striker’s transfer value has near doubled by Reims loan

Balogun, and England youth international who was born in New York to Nigerian parents - and therefore still eligible to represent three countries internationally - is valued at €14.3 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, although Arsenal might now demand significantly more.

Balogun scored 13 goals in 11 Premier League 2 games last season, and Milan have expressed their interest before.

The Rossoneri are in the market for a new striker with Olivier Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic 36 and 41 respectively, even if they are both still able to perform at the top level, injury permitting.