Arsenal Transfers: 2 clubs leading the race for Folarin Balogun

It appears as if the two Milan clubs will engage in a bidding war for Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun this summer.

While Balogun has barely featured for Mikel Arteta’s first team, his stellar loan spell at Reims last season has seen his value sky-rocket with the Gunners happy to let him depart should clubs come close to matching their reported valuation of £50m.

However, the striker’s situation has been pretty murky since he returned from France. While Gabriel Jesus is the club’s leading frontman, there’s scope for Balogun to usurp Eddie Nketiah and emerge as the Brazilian’s deputy. The recent USMNT commit wants regular first-team minutes, though, and he’s already ruled out a loan move next season.

With Arteta set to retain faith in Nketiah despite a difficult pre-season, a permanent departure away from north London seems inevitable for Balogun, although there’s been little movement on this front so far this summer.

Milan clubs leading the race to sign Folarin Balogun

A whole host of clubs have been linked with the Arsenal man, but the reported potential suitors gradually seem to fade out of the race. Balogun was deemed too expensive by Marseille, while RB Leipzig opted to sign Lois Openda.

However, other European clubs remain interested in signing the 22-year-old, and The Independent reports that Milan and Inter are set to engage in a bidding war for Balogun.

The player is said to be ‘hugely interested’ in a move to Serie A, although it remains to be seen just how much the Milan clubs would be willing to spend on the young forward. Both aren’t exactly in the strongest financial situation right now.

Nevertheless, Milan are in need of an Olivier Giroud successor, while Inter have lost Edin Dzeko already this summer with Romelu Lukaku’s future also unclear. Joaquin Correa is currently Lautaro Martinez’s strike partner, but the former Lazio man has fired to fire at San Siro.

The potential for a bidding war will undoubtedly excite Arsenal, who will likely have to raise funds before they can dip their toe into the market themselves. The Gunners have recently been linked with a move for versatile Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus.