Arsenal have confirmed that Folarin Balogun has joined Championship side Middlesbrough on loan for the rest of the season.
The England under-21 international heads to the Riverside to gain more senior experience under manager Chris Wilder who had previously tried to sign the player while at Sheffield United.
Boro are one point off the play-off positions in seventh place but off the back of a six-game unbeaten run are well placed for a promotion push. They also have a big game with Manchester United on the horizon having drawn the Red Devils in the FA Cup fourth round.
Balogun’s loan move comes as no surprise despite the question marks hanging over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Eddie Nketiah and Alex Lacazette.
The 20-year-old has scored 13 goals and 3 assists in 11 Premier League 2 fixtures this season and definitely needs to test himself at a higher level before making a claim for a regular place in Mikel Arteta’s matchday squads.
On his new signing, Boro boss Chris Wilder said: “We’re delighted to get Flo in. He’s a player I’ve known about for a long time and we identified him as someone who could come in and improve us in the second half of the season.
“He has great movement, good pace, and he’s a natural finisher. We’re looking forward to working with him.”
We wish him the best of luck in the North East.
Excellent news. His talent is undeniable, but given his match vs. Brentford in August, he needs tougher tests against big hard-tackling CBs on a regular basis to progress. Boro seems like the perfect place to do so, so best of luck to him.
All the best Balogun!
Really looking forward to seeing what he can do. I don’t recall a young academy striker looking as good as he does really- even those with good scoring records (Akpom, Afobe, Nketiah etc) didn’t look anywhere near as complete as he does. Know he struggled at Brentford but they’ve since showed they’re far from a pushover, particularly at home.
Is he actually going to get 90 minutes there though?
Well they’re at home to Reading on Saturday – who conceded 7 last night – so hopefully he gets a chance this weekend.
Go and learn to become a beast in the premier league next season
I hope he gets enough minutes. I think he may have been better of going down another league to a team that would have played him every week. Fingers crossed I’m wrong and he tears it up. Good luck Flo
Agreed.
I wouldn’t necessarily say dropping down another league, but I’m a bit concerned about the sheer number of attacking options Boro have re. gametime as concerns Championship options. They’ve already loaned Aaron Connelly from Brighton this month, and had a number of recognised strikers on the books at that point. The positive you might suggest is that they’ve been so keen to bring him in despite that, but I think there’s a risk of him either getting game time playing out wide or just being used as an impact player.
Come back, stronger!
He’s gone to a club with a great manager who are in a race for the playoffs. He’ll have an opportunity to play in really important matches.
I’m cheering for Middlesborough to get promoted now.
Best of luck Flo!!!