Folarin Balogun appears destined to leave Arsenal in the summer transfer window, but how much will he cost and will the Gunners regret selling him?
The United States international striker has attracted interest from across Europe after hitting 21 goals on loan at Ligue 1 side Reims last season. He remains under contract at Emirates Stadium, but is expected to take on a new challenge outside of north London.
He would face competition from the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at Arsenal in 2023-24, with Mikel Arteta having plenty of attacking options at his disposal. With that in mind, a big-money sale may be sanctioned for Balogun.
What will he eventually go for? Will he make the Gunners live to regret their decision to let him go and should they look to include a buy-back option in any deal? GOAL put those questions and more to former Arsenal star Ray Parlour.
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Parlour, speaking in association with , told GOAL when asked if a transfer could be the best option for all concerned this summer: “I think it looks like he will be leaving the club, but it’s about the money now and the deal for Arsenal – what sort of money they can get. He had a decent season last year. He wants to play week in, week out doesn’t he? I don’t think he’s going to get that opportunity at Arsenal. The club need a bit of money coming back in. Arsenal probably want x and y, the other clubs that are bidding for him will try and get him on the cheap, and it will end up in the middle. It’s just about when it happens, but I’m sure he will be leaving. Edu wants to get a few players out now because they have spent big money and need to get a bit coming back.”
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There has been talk of Arsenal demanding as much as £50 million ($64m) for Balogun, with Parlour saying of his potential asking price: “I think he might go for a little bit less than that. I think they will be looking around £40m ($51m). It’s not a bad deal for all parties. He’s probably going to go to a club and play regularly and Arsenal get a good deal with the money coming into the club. I’m guessing it will be around that figure, but it’s all up to the kid. It’s all about now, when he goes to the next club – if he goes to another league – then he has got to prove Mikel Arteta wrong. That’s what you have to do as a youngster, you have to say ‘well, I didn’t fit in at Arsenal, I didn’t get an opportunity, but I’m going to show them how good I am’. Hopefully he can do that because you want to see young players developing and doing better. I’m sure Arteta will hold his hands up if he goes to another club and starts banging goals in.”
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Buy-back clauses are popular in modern transfers, with Parlour saying when quizzed on whether Arsenal should look to cover themselves by including an option in any deal for Balogun that could see him return to Emirates Stadium for a second spell at some point in the future: “They are so complicated now, contracts. When I was playing it was very simple – here’s the contract, four-year contract, and you signed it. Now there are so many clauses and different stuff – sell-on clauses and all that. I’m sure the lawyers will be sitting down and trying to get the best deal for both clubs. Maybe they could put that in there, why not? If he does go and start banging goals in then… Strikers are so hard to come by. If you can do that, and he’s only a young man still, then why not try and put that in the contract.”
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Arsenal showed with William Saliba that loan moves can be beneficial when it comes to developing young talent, with said players returning to them from spells elsewhere better placed to challenge for a regular starting berth. Parlour said when asked if Balogun could have been talked into treading that path: “I don’t think he wants to go on loan. Sometimes the player makes their own decisions. Maybe he doesn’t want to, he wants to start anew at another club. I’m sure his agent and those behind the scenes will have been tapped up and he might have set his heart on leaving. You can’t stop players these days, they have all the power. All the club can do then is make sure that they get a good deal for themselves. It’s similar to Declan Rice – West Ham knew he was going but they held out for the right money that they felt they deserved, and they got it in the end. Arsenal might be the same with Balogun, say ‘right, we want £45m, if you come up with that money then you can have him’. I’m sure they will be holding out for as much as they can, Arsenal. There is still quite a lot of the window left, so usually people start panicking towards the end of it and come up with a deal.”