ARSENAL

Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun nears a loan move to Reims

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Ligue 1 team Reims are looking to sign Arsenal wonderkid Folarin Balogun on loan. French outlet L’Equipe report that a deal is imminent. 

Balogun is scheduled to have a medical imminently in France. There won’t be an option to purchase, however.

The 21-year-old was retained by the team for the first part of last season after pledging his future to Arsenal. He later joined Middlesbrough in January. In his subsequent 21 appearances at Riverside Stadium, he scored three goals.

Balogun had a number of Premier League clubs interested in his signature. However, the 21-year-old chose Reims. He would probably be a starter there, especially after Hugo Ekitike departed for PSG.

What Is in Store For Balogun

Folarin Balogun has been a prolific striker for the Gunners at the youth levels. He recently made the step up to senior football the previous season. To everyone’s surprise, the England youth international started the season opener against Brentford in a 2-0 loss. Pierre Emrick Aubameyang, Alexander Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah were all unavailable that day. 

After the signing of Gabriel Jesus and the emergence of Nketiah, it looks unlikely that Balogun will get minutes at the Emirates. It will be better for his development if he heads out somewhere where he can get regular minutes and develop his game.

He has a number of admirers within the club. Mikel Arteta was full of praise about him in a recent press conference.

We have been extremely impressed with Flo this season. He has continually shown his natural ability in many training sessions with us and we have been equally impressed with his early integration into the first-team squad on matchdays. 

He has given us glimpses with the performances and of course with his two goals already for the first team. The hard work starts here for Flo and we are all looking forward to supporting and working with him in the years to come.

Balogun has high expectations attached to him. Arsenal fans will undoubtedly be optimistic about how his career turns out.

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