Arsenal were set to be short of strikers heading into the new season, but Edu’s transfer business means that Mikel Arteta could have an array of selections. This also means that the Gunners will need to sell players in order to have a balanced amount of options in the forward line.
Eddie Nketiah has signed a new contract with the club, while The Times have reported that the Gunners have made an improved offer to Man City for Jesus and in spite of this new offer not meeting the £50m valuation, it is expected that the eight-time Premier League goalscorer for 2021/22 will move to the Emirates.
This is likely to be Arteta’s main striker options for the new campaign, and It is because of this that Edu should look to include Folarin Balogun in Bernd Leno’s potential move to Fulham. But, the youngsters' move should only be on a loan basis.
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The Athletic are reporting that Fulham are in talks to sign Leno, who wants to stay in London. A deal is likely to happen due to Arsenal’s acquisition of a new goalkeeper as football.london reported back in January that an initial £4.5million deal for Matt Turner had been agreed between the Gunners and New England. That fee is then set to climb to £7.5million, depending on bonuses.
Arsenal should look to propose Balogun for an ideal loan move when selling Leno to Fulham. There should already be an incentive to do this as according to the Daily Mail, Fulham were interested in a deal to sign Balogun on loan for next season. It has also been reported that Marco Silva wants to sign the striker temporarily with a view to making the deal permanent.
The Gunners must avoid including a buy-option at all costs, because not only does he have the potential to be a starting Arsenal striker in the future. But the Gunners have included the option-to-buy in other loanee’s deals this season, which they could regret.
The youngster has been gaining valuable experience since joining Middlesborough on loan until the end of the season and he has had a great chance to replicate his youth team qualities at the first-team level, with the FA Cup fixtures are also giving him an excellent platform to show his abilities against Premier League opposition.
Balogun played so well in the under-23 competitions that before the signing of his new Arsenal deal in the summer, there were a host of top clubs around Europe, including RB Leipzig, that signalled interest in securing his services, despite not making a first-team appearance.
Now with first-team football under his belt in the lower leagues, a spell in the Premier League where he plays regularly would certainly be great for his development. A move to Fulham would be great for all parties involved.
Nketiah’s contract extension would have likely been a surprise for the England youth international as that role should have been preserved for Balogun after he signed a new contract with the club towards the back end of the 2020/2021 season. However, the Englishman must continue to thrive in his loan moves to continue to show why he deserves to be a part of Arteta’s plans.
