Arsenal linked to FIVE strikers but would have to sell fan favourite

Tom Hancock

• Updated: 29 Mar 2023 15:07 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have identified five potential targets as they look to add a robust centre-forward to their ranks – but they could have to offload rising star Folarin Balogun in the process.

Valued at €14.9m by our Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) model, Balogun has been on fire on loan at Ligue 1 Reims this season, banging in 17 goals in 27 games to rank as the joint second top scorer in the French top flight – behind only PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe and Lille's Jonathan David.

But the 21-year-old’s Arsenal future still appears uncertain, as the Gunners continue to be linked with the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Victor Osimhen.

READ: Man Utd and Arsenal target throws Barcelona transfer curveball

Vlahovic only joined Juventus in January last year, but the Italian giants’ recent points deduction has left them facing an uphill struggle to qualify for next season’s Champions League – a competition to which Premier League leaders Arsenal are set to return after six years away.

Osimhen, meanwhile, has been tearing it up for Napoli as they cruise towards their first league title in 33 years, scoring a Serie A-high 21 goals this term.

According to the Evening Standard, two other Serie A strikers are on Arsenal’s radar – Roma’s Tammy Abraham and 20-year-old Atalanta sensation Rasmus Hojlund – as is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who’s endured an injury-disrupted campaign for relegation-threatened Everton.

Arteta acknowledges 'incredible' Balogun

Barring a cataclysmically disastrous end to the season, Arsenal will be playing Champions League football in 2023/24 – so they’re bound to be a more attractive proposition than they might have been in summers gone by.

The phenomenal form of Balogun cannot be ignored, though – and the England U21 international, who could yet play for the USA or Nigeria at senior level, is younger than all of the Gunners’ apparent targets bar Hojlund.

Mikel Arteta is certainly well aware of Balogun’s ability: “When you look at the numbers and what he is doing, it’s just incredible,” the Arsenal boss said in February.