As they were progressing through the ranks at Arsenal, comparisons were frequently made between Folarin Balogun and Tyreece John-Jules given that they were in the same scholarship intake and both play as strikers.
While Balogun is now in the first-team squad at Arsenal and has gained experience on loan with Middlesbrough, John-Jules hasn’t quite progressed as much, mainly due to injuries.
The youngster has endured much misfortune on the fitness front, with his latest setback seeing him play just 18 minutes after joining Sheffield Wednesday on loan in January.
John-Jules had had previous stints at Blackpool, Lincoln and Doncaster Rovers but always seems to get stopped in his tracks by injuries.
At the age of 21 he is still quite young but it is getting to the stage in his development where a decision will need to be made on his long-term future within the next year or two.
With his impressive technique and ability to play out wide, John-Jules is an exciting prospect, but the chances of him succeeding at Arsenal in the long term are starting to fade, through no fault of his own.
Perhaps next season John-Jules could be given one last chance out on loan, but at present the signs suggest that his future could lie away from the club. If he can avoid further long-term setbacks then he may still have a promising career ahead of him, although maybe not at Arsenal.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Good luck to him, hope he gets fully fit very soon and has a chance of impressing Arteta.
Unfortunate news, starting to look like it might be a pattern. But at least he’s staying positive in his recent quotes:
“Hey, this has been a good day. I’ve eaten five times, I’ve slept six times, and I’ve made a lot of things mine. Tomorrow, I’m gonna see if I can’t have sex with something!”
Sounds like a Real/Barca style low cash sale with selling % and buy back clause inserted could be the right next step.