07 August 2023 , 15:29
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Arsenal have rejected an offer from Monaco for wantaway striker Folarin Balogun.
Balogun had a successful loan spell at Reims last campaign, scoring 22 goals in all competitions for the French side. But with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah preferred by Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, and new signing Kai Havertz getting the nod in attack in the Community Shield, the United States international is only fourth choice at the Emirates Stadium.
The striker is ready to leave for regular game time and has suitors across Europe. But the Gunners will only sell if their £50million asking price for the 22-year-old is met.
With Inter Milan keen but struggling to put together a deal to tempt the Arsenal hierarchy, French side Monaco have looked to step in and take Balogun back to Ligue 1.
Following last week's friendly between the two sides, Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro made a verbal proposal to counterpart Edu which was immediately rebuffed. The Ligue 1 side then submitted a formal written offer, understood to be worth an initial £30million with add-ons, although that again has been turned down.
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The French side are searching for a striker after the news that star man Breel Embolo has been ruled out of action for several months with a ruptured ACL.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Arsenal sell Folarin Balogun this summer? Comment below.
Arsenal have turned down a bid from Monaco for Folarin Balogun (Trevor Ruszkowski/ISI Photos/Getty Images)Serie A side Inter are still searching for replacements for Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku, after both left the club in the summer. They had initially been keen to re-sign Lukaku from Chelsea, but have since ended their interest in the Belgium striker.
Earlier this summer, Balogun insisted he was ready for regular first-team football. He said: "I obviously went away and the point was to prove I could play first-team football. I feel I was able to do that and show people I can play at that level.
“I think with me coming back it’s not really much of a situation where I think I can need to try extra hard to prove something, I think it’s a decision that’s not really with me. Whatever happens I’m cool with it.”
Boss Arteta is dealing with an injury to first-choice forward Jesus, who has been ruled out for several weeks. But the Spaniard is resistant to changing his plans for Balogun despite that problem.
“The plan with Flo doesn't change at all. But unfortunately, with Gabby, we’re not going to have him. We have other options to play with different qualities of players, so we will adapt,” he said last week.
“It's a big blow because we had him [Jesus] back to his best. He was in good condition, and we've lost him. He's been feeling some discomfort in the last few weeks, we had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quickly as possible.”