Arsenal star Folarin Balogun, who is currently on loan at Stade de Reims, is set to hold a meeting with England Under-21 coach Lee Carsley to decide his international future. The Three Lions and the United States, the country of Balogun's birth, are both pushing to convince him to declare in their favour.
The 21-year-old striker has scored 18 goals for Reims this term in all competitions and is attracting interest from a number of top clubs in Europe. The Gunners are set to make a decision on Balogun's future this summer once he returns from loan, with Stan Kroenke said to have set a £35million asking price for the talented forward.
The Arsenal loanee was initially called up by the Young Lions but was forced to pull out due to injury and has since travelled to the US during the international break. Carsley has now confirmed that he is anticipating talks with the 21-year-old regarding his international future.
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As per The Mirror, Carsley said: "That is the plan [to hold talks with Balogun]. You're always going to miss a player with that knack of scoring.
"He's going to have to make a decision, so all we can do is tell him how much we rate him. The rest is down to him - I'll just be making the point of how important he is to us.
“Hopefully, we can talk a little bit about patience and understanding that he is going to have to keep doing what he's doing to break through to the senior team. Like a lot of players in our squad, we've got a lot of players that are pushing. Hopefully, he can see that.
“I've been there myself as a young player, you're in a rush and you want to get there quickly. Hopefully, I can convince him."
England senior boss Gareth Southgate has also given his view on Balogun’s future international commitments and has suggested that electing to change nations has not always benefitted a player. Southgate said: "I haven't [spoken to Balogun] yet because to this point, he has been with the under-21s and very happy.
"Clearly, other nations have been quite aggressive in their recruitment and what they are offering. That, in my experience of history, has sometimes been really successful for the players and sometimes hasn’t worked out.
"I’ve seen countries cap players at 16 or 17 and they’ve disappeared. In the end, as a player, I think you back yourself, but you have got to ultimately make the decision."
Balogun's decision may have an impact on his value in the transfer market, thus impacting Arsenal's potential gain from selling the young striker. United States interim coach Anthony Hudson has already confirmed that talks took place during the young striker's trip during the most recent international break.
Balogun could prove to become a long-term successor to Harry Kane in the senior England squad, but given that the Tottenham star will continue playing for a number of years, it may see the Gunners talent declare for the United States.
Balogun has a key decision to make about his future at club level too, with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah ahead of him in the pecking order in Mikel Arteta's squad at present.
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