In-form Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun has been given Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah as examples to follow in his decision over his future on the international stage. The striker has impressed during his loan spell with Reims, sitting as joint-second top scorer in Ligue 1 with 17 goals.
There will certainly be questions over his future with the Gunners when he returns in the summer, but there is also uncertainty surrounding which side he may represent on the national stage. Balogun has featured for the England youth sides, but is eligible to play for the USMNT.
"We had some very good conversations with Flo [Folarin Balogun] and his agent, just sharing what we do, talking to him about where we see him in our team, allowing him just to get a feel for the country, the team, the guys," USMNT interim head coach Anthony Hudson told reporters on Tuesday. "The conversations went really, really well, and then, since he and his agent went back to Europe, there have just been a couple of text messages and now it's down to him to make a decision."
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Amid questions over Balogun's future, former striker Dwight Yorke has implored Gareth Southgate to have a conversation with the youngster and not rule out a place in the England setup. Speaking to Neue Online Casinos, he said: "If I was Gareth Southgate, I would like to have a conversation with Folarin Balogun and understand why he’s made that decision, he should not shut the door on him just yet because he could be the next big thing.
"From a conversation, then you can find out if he has the right attitude or not to be in your team. We’ve seen players like Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah not have a good time with their managers and look at them now, Balogun could be the same.”
It remains to be seen which decision will be reached by the time one has to be made, but with international competitions on the horizon for next year, it could be one that has to be agreed on sooner rather than later.
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