According to various reports, Inter Milan have stepped up their interest in Folarin Balogun having given up on signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.
Arsenal are open to selling the 22-year-old striker but they won’t be doing so on the cheap after he impressed for French side Stade de Reims last season.
It’s believed Edu wants something close to £50 million for the academy graduate, a fee that would make the player the club’s record highest sale by some distance.
Unlike other players whose futures at Emirates Stadium are under a cloud, Balogun has been included in the squad for Arsenal’s tour of the United States.
Mikel Arteta is keen to take a closer look at the player following his year away before a final decision on his future is made.
When he was asked about Balogun after last week’s 1-1 draw with FC Nurnberg, the manager said: “He’s just staying here with us at the moment and we will see what happens.”
For his part, Balogun has made it clear he’s not interested in another temporary switch.
“What I can say is that I definitely won’t go on loan again,” he said in June.
“I’m not sure (about) the discussions that are going to take place, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”
Italian outlet RAI Radio claim Inter have two proposals for Arsenal; a €40 million offer spread across five payments or an initial loan deal containing a purchase obligation. They claim the player has been offered a five-year deal worth £3.5 million a year.
To be clear, at this point, no official offer has been made.
Worth at least 60!! Home grown plus only 21yr old in Europe alongside Halaand that breached 30 goals! Would rather keep him though but as long as his team refuses to extend then it’s adios Amigo!!
You’ve got to say £70m+ for Saudi Arabia and at least £60 for anyone else.
Plus a buy back clause.
70m for Saudi Arabia, 60m for England, and probably 40m at most for everybody else.
I don’t think Inter can afford to buy Balogun.
I fear negotiating with Italian clubs will be a prodigious waste of time, like in the past. Typically, the clubs end up identifying how little Arsenal will accept, and then they walk away, saying they can’t afford it.
Plus Balogun reportedly wants first team football but I don’t think he goes into Inter’s first 11. They already have Martinez, Correa, and just signed Thuram.
£80m for Todd Boehly, Tony Bloom or David Sullivan.
I was going to say if he goes to Italy it would actually be “ciao, amico”, but then I remembered in Italian “ciao” means “hello” as well as “goodbye” which actually would just make the whole thing more ambiguous.
And in the world of transfers, where everything is stated clearly and understood by everyone, the last thing we want is ambiguity.
He’s not homegrown for Inter, that part only makes his value higher if we sell him inside England, which I VERY much hope we don’t.
“Inter bids four pounds worth of gorgonzolas for ace Arsenal striker.”
They can kiss my salsiccia
Hope he stays and give him a chance, see what he’s got. Sell Eddie as he’s had a chance and is nowhere near good enough.
I agree. But I just don’t think there’s a market for Eddie. He’s on big wages and only a year into his new deal.
I would personally love to move away from Eddie and I think Arteta would consider bids. But it’s all gone a bit quiet on that front.
In an ideal (fifa career mode) world, we get £60m for Eddie AND Flo and then go big on one of Europe’s finest CF’s.
Then I think we win the league. No question.
What centre forwards are you thinking of?
Off the top of my head…
Bjarn Colberg
Dejan Kudavouic
Egan Šnakel
Essien Bongolo
Pierre Ardofo
Pavel Nuremberg
Zin Cheng-Min-Zin
Diego Sousa-Paulo
Glin Char
Mercy Peters
Alex Zargobski
Phil Philipski
How many if those did you just make up?
One name.
Osimhen
I think Balogun’s up there after the Mbappes, Haalands and Osimhens. We’re not going to be able to compete with city with a striker of Nketiah’s calibre or Jesus as our forward. I love Jesus and he has a lot of great attributes but he is not prolific. We need the firepower that Balogun brings. Eddie should probably be sent out on loan if he can’t be sold – he turns the ball over too much when he has his back to goal and is peripheral most of the time. And to the people trashing the French league, to make… Read more »
Me too, I would rather he stays and Ed goes.
He’ll go on to be a lethal striker in the near future
I think Eddie is a year of week in week out football away from reaching his next level. He’s improved his hold up play, which almost wasn’t existent before. Plays one-twos well around the box, he just needs a good year of regular starting football. Perhaps a loan move?
I hope Flo stays and really challenges for a starting role
I think £50m is a realistic target for Balogun, but not sure it will come from Italian clubs… Let’s play the waiting game on this one.
Too cheap.
Ugh….don’t like this one bit. 1st option buy-back clause FOR SURE or its a bad deal.
I did see that mentioned somewhere as a possible addition. Doesn’t seem as bad then.
Honestly if Arteta says he’s keeping an eye on him I fully believe he’s keeping an eye. Arteta likes home-grown talent and good character, and he knows what he wants. If Balogun’s as good as we all think he is (and I also think he’s really, really good) then there’s no reason why he shouldn’t stay. That said I can see us selling him for funds too, and honestly I’m with you in that I’d be kind of miffed if we did. If anything because it would feel like a reflection that the hypercompetitive nature of modern football (which I… Read more »
40 million should be the minimum we should accept if he goes but if we can push for 45 + 5 add on will be great deal for us. I think we should go for Osimhen from Napoli. He won’t be cheap but I think 130-150 million they will sell him. Respect to Stan and Josh for spending the cash on quality players.
Napoli would want an arm and a leg and one the balls from Thierry Henry’s statue.
As a first offer 40 mill E is not a piss take. It sets a lower bar for any club whose interested.
I agree, all other will now know that the talks start at £35M; if you are offering lower or only a loan option, don’t bother.
whether we sell it or not is another matter.
i’d prefer he’d stayed.
If they are bidding 40 and we want 50 we should be able to meet somewhere in the middle. 40+5 in add ons and a sell on clause would be ok I think.
Ideally I would want to keep him but if his mind is made up that’s a decent fee for a player who has only shined for one season in a weaker league.
Euros vs pounds though
Ah, true – don’t notice that.
I think he will stay. It feels like Saliba all over again. He will stay and earn his spot.
Hope you’re right mate.
I think he’ll explode wherever he goes.
I honestly think he’ll stay. I get the feeling he’s a clever boy with a good agent.
I reckon he knows he won’t be an automatic starter, but he also knows this is brilliant time to be an arsenal player.
I honestly think we should keep him. Or if he must be sold, accept nothing less than £60m for non Saudi and £70m for Saudi.
Market forces, ladies and gents, market forces.
Not often that i agree with you on these pages but this is one where I do. He’s a potential star which we’ve developed in a position where we need someone like him. If we sell him it means we have to bring someone else, which is unlikely to be as talented for anywhere in that price range, and won’t be an Arsenal academy product either.
That said if we keep him it has to be with his commitment to extend his contract, otherwise we risk losing him for free next summer.
Personally, I think the next bid should be £40 million and one pound.
3 words: BUY BACK CLAUSE.
Buyback clauses are for higher values than the current fee. If we sell him for 50m, then the buyback will probably will be at ~100m (otherwise it will make no sane for the buying club), which will make it quite useless.
Buyback clauses are for young and developing players, and Flo has entered the “top striker” territory.
50 million sounds about right.
50 million + 1
A buy-back clause should be involved, please.
Unpopular thinking but bun balogun. His chat sucks, I’m not doing this, I’m not doing that blah blah.
I’d keep Eddie in a heartbeat. His attitude is incredible (something arteta clearly rates) and scores goals in the PREMIER LEAGUE. Cash in on him whilst his stock is high. Don’t bother with buy back nonsense as it lowers the upfront fee. He either stays now and fights or go does the easy thing.
Biased take incoming:
I find it funny how, when an English player talks about how he wants to start, doesn’t want to go on loan, wants to fight for his place, etc. it is admirable, but when a non-English player does the same thing, you get takes like “his chat sucks.” Not accusing just you specifically, and again I’m seeing this through a biased lens, but I’ve seen a ton of this take about Flo since he switched to the USMNT. No discontent towards you, seriously. It rubs me wrong I guess is all.
I think your missing my point. He’s not about the collective like Eddie. it’s all about him. He’s simply not at the level (yet) where he can demand a guaranteed starting place over Gabriel Jesus.(whose won multiple premier leagues)
I’d love Balogun to stay as I feel there’s space for him to shine hlat Arsenal, but he ain’t the first name on the team sheet (yet).Of course that could change, but as Auba proved, he has to buy into Arteta’s proces, or Ciao Ciao.
Nothing to do with nationalities bud!
Completely agree. Good to find someone here who rates Eddie besides myself. Eddie has done a lot of things right. Completely overhauled his muscle and body fat in one year. Improved his holding play significantly. Fits well with the collective spirit. Also read that he played with Rice in the youth set up. People seem to think Eddie has peaked. I don’t. If he continues improving as he has, he will be quite a player. He already has the fox in the box instincts and hunger to score. On top of all that, Balogun is a counter attacking type player.… Read more »
Eddie plays like an academy player and he is two years older than Haaland. He makes terrible decisions and turns the ball over consistently when his back is towards the goal. He’s never going to compete with Jesus for a starting spot, similar to Saka and Reiss, and holding and Saliba. Eddie doesn’t impact games when he comes on a sub – so he doesn’t even provide a different option off the bench. Balogun is a baller. He is not a counterattacking style player -dudes a true goal scorer. Balogun scored more goals than Osimhen did in the French league… Read more »
‘If’ he does go I’d much rather abroad than stay in the premier league (not from a fee point of view, obviously) as I feel it may haunt us. I really hope he gets a chance with us and shines.
Inter are one of the few teams in Europe who have money, so we should be making them spend it.
Take the money and run- £50 million.
https://media.tenor.com/6e1MlsrX7IUAAAAM/take-it-and-go-gtfo.gif
What is it with Italian teams?
50 million UK sterling not 40 million Euro’s
Question is do we then go into the market for a new striker?
How about Martinez from Inter Milan for £20 million less than he is worth?
I think that Arteta is very very unlikely to keep him. The “ play me more or I leave “ is no longer a viable part of multi championship winning teams reliant on younger talent. That attitude can survive inside the locker room for a few years if the team is winning and your club can buy buy buy big players. In a club built on teamwork and opportunities for the best young players in the world….it destroys the locker room and then the club. It was very revealing when $100 million Rice made the statement “ every player must… Read more »
Go to AC Milan, Inter are like spuds except they occasionally win things!!!
I’d like that we keep Balogun. I have seen people say he is very entitled, but I think that that assessment is very unfair. All he has asked for is assurances that he’ll get the chances to impress, if he is to sign a new contract. It’s simple, really. He’s looking out for his interests as a player and I think that that is okay. Many of us would do the same in his position. That said, I do have an issue with how he has handled his image on his socials. He recently unfollowed everyone bar the USMNT senior… Read more »
I understand the thoughts, I felt the same at first until he said it out loud to the press. Playing for Arteta I get the feeling he has enough cred for playing players that earn playing time. Just look at Reiss Nelson… just don’t talk or whine about it around the press or teammates. I still think Flo may go on to be a great player but not necessarily a good fit here and now. We shall see. I will say this, I am a believer in Eddie as a solid backup and maybe more? I actually thought that before… Read more »
Why on earth would we look to sell? To flip the narrative, imagine Balo isn’t an Arsenal player. Imagine Ornstein reports “Arsenal in for Balogun at 40 million”. Most fans would be over the moon to get the potentially hottest young striker talent in the world, and for a reasonable price when mugs like Anthony go for twice the price. If he then ended up going to Chelsea / United (Manchester or Newcastle) we would have people crying out “Look at the striker depth they have compared to us, we only have Eddie and they have gone and got the… Read more »
Balogun scored more goals (21) than Osimhen did (13) in Ligue Un before moving to Napoli. Comparing Balogun to Nketiah is like comparing Saliba to Rob Holding. Balogun played a lot more football than Nketiah last season. If Balogun wasn’t our player and we were to buy him from Reims they would not let him go for anything less than 80-90 mil – that too if they absolutely had to part with them.
Our record highest sale is a good question for an Arsenal trivia night… I certainly had to Google it.
It’s actually Oxlade-Chamberlain for £35m in 2017. In hindsight, a decent piece of business.