Journalist Dharmesh Sheth has suggested that he has heard from one source that Chelsea have a real interest in signing Folarin Balogun from Arsenal this summer.
Sheth was speaking on Sky Sports News, and suggested that he had received an update about the USMNT international while on air.
Folarin Balogun may be one player who moves in the final weeks of the transfer window. The forward looks to be down the pecking order at the Emirates. And he wants to be playing regularly.
Chelsea interest in Balogun is real
Arsenal are open to letting the 22-year-old leave, but want £50 million. Sheth noted that there has been interest from the likes of Monaco and Inter.
But the Sky reporter noted that he had just received an update on Balogun – and it seems that Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bring him to Stamford Bridge this month.
“Just one development while we’re on air on Balogun, and this is from one source only before we go, and this says Chelsea have an interest in Folarin Balogun. No bid made, but interest is real,” he said on Sky Sports News.
The worry for Chelsea is that Arsenal are hardly going to give them any discount. So if they want Balogun, they may have to be prepared to pay £50 million for someone who is yet to prove himself in the Premier League.
He was ‘phenomenal‘ while on loan with Reims in Ligue 1 last season as he finished as one of the division’s top goalscorers. But that form looks seemingly unlikely to be enough to convince Mikel Arteta to play him ahead of the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard.
Obviously, if he is able to replicate anything like his form in France in the Premier League, he could be an absolutely inspired signing.
But if he does make the move, he will definitely have a real point to prove. Not only will he want to show Arsenal that they were wrong to let him go, but he may also have some doubters he needs to silence if he ends up making a £50 million move to Chelsea.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
