Folarin Balogun coy on Arsenal future amid transfer speculation

Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun has offered no hints regarding his long-term future amid speculation linking him with a move away from the Gunners this summer.

Currently on loan at Stade de Reims, the 21-year-old has taken the French top flight by storm, racking up 17 goals in 27 appearances.

His lethal goalscoring form has prompted interest, with Serie A duo Inter Milan and AC Milan monitoring the player’s situation ahead of the summer market.

There is no buy option in his loan deal with Reims, meaning he will return to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season.

However, his future with the north London outfit is far from secure, with the Englishman unlikely to oust Gabriel Jesus as Mikel Arteta’s first-choice striker despite his Ligue 1 exploits.

When asked if imposing himself in the Arsenal team is his goal, Balogun remained tight-lipped on key details but admitted he will talk with the Gunners this summer to sort out his future.

“Yeah, I mean, contractually I have to go back because the loan was only for one year so that was always the agreement,” Balogun said in an interview with the Ligue 1 show. 

“But I’m not sure what is going to happen in the future. A lot could happen in football, a lot could change, and it just depends on the conversations we have between me and the club in the summer, and we’ll see what happens.”

Balogun progressed through the youth ranks at Arsenal before joining Reims on a season-long loan deal last summer.

However, he wasted no time endearing himself to the club faithful after scoring on his debut against Olympique Marseille despite his side being on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline.

The youngster has not looked back since and is currently the division’s joint-second top scorer this term, just two goals behind Lille’s Jonathan David and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe with 19 each.

Balogun then reflected on a ‘good year’ in the French league before leaving the door open to a possible return next season.

“Yeah, I mean there’s no door that’s closed,” the striker added. “Of course, I have had a good year here, and to a lot of people, it makes sense for me to come back here.”