Folarin Balogun: Reims acknowledge signing Arsenal wonderkid is 'impossible'

Cameron Smith

• 21 Feb 2023 16:42 CST
• 3 min read

Stade Reims have admitted that signing on-loan Arsenal star Folarin Balogun on a permanent deal is "impossible."

Balogun, 21, has netted 15 Ligue 1 goals for Reims this season, which puts him joint-top in the division's scoring charts alongside Kylian Mbappe and Jonathan David.

His goal-scoring form under new boss Will Still has helped Reims climb into the top-half of the French top flight, with the side currently on a 16-match unbeaten run - the best ever in the club's history.

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Balogun's form has caught the eyes of scouts across Europe, with Borussia Dortmund one interested party, but Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot has admitted that Balogun will go onto better things than his club.

What has been said?

Caillot told France Bleu: "I think [signing him permanently] is impossible. The rules of the game are clear: these are boys that, when they join us, know that they’re here to improve and that it’s a step for them. So even if I’m not deciding for him, either Folarin will return to his club [Arsenal] to have his chance, he’s loaned out, or transferred to a very big club.

“He is a player that should go even higher. So obviously we’ll ask him if he feels good here, and at his club, but I think that now, he will need to take a step up. We are already working on life after Balogun, the day when he will leave our club. But if he and the club are open to another year at Reims, we’ll do everything to make it happen.”

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Although he's netted 15 times in Ligue 1 this campaign, Balogun recently missed a crucial penalty during Reims' 0-0 draw with OGC Nice, but after the game Still insisted that even the greats aren't able to always convert from the penalty spot.

Still said: "He's [Balogun] very disappointed. Very, very disappointed, but it happens, and I told him at the end of the match that it was not the end of the world.

"The best players in the world, be it Zinedine Zidane or Thierry Henry have missed a penalty at some point. It's part of football.

"It's a detail and one that we'll try to correct. He's the first to recognize that, and he expects a lot of himself, and he wants to score goals. But it's nothing too serious."

Balogun's Arsenal contract is set to expire in 2025, so the Gunners will need to tie him down to a new deal or consider selling him this summer. Mikel Arteta already has Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as forward options at the club.