AC Milan target Folarin Balogun grabbed his first goal for the United States of America on Sunday but that may end up working against the Rossoneri’s favour when it comes to signing him, a report claims.
As has been reported by Calciomercato.com, the Arsenal striker netted during a 2-0 win for the USA against Canada and it was his first goal for the country, having recently taken the decision to represent them instead of England where he has played at youth level.
Him scoring goals shows why Milan are so interested in signing him, but the fact remains that Arsenal would like around €40 million for him, a figure that Milan cannot reach unless Divock Origi and Ante Rebic are sold.
That makes it very likely that somebody else will swoop for the 2001-born striker whilst Milan are still trying to shift Origi and Rebic off of the books for acceptable transfer fees.
Origi and Rebic won’t bring in €10 million. If Milan want them off the books, they’ll have to release them and if Balogun was good, Arsenal wouldn’t sell him. There are better options in Serie A e.g. Beto.
Undoubtedly, there are better options – but two things are clear –
Against both Mexico and Canada, Balogun looked SHARP. He’s not yet in the prime of his career, this could be a great long-game play for Milan, especially on the player development front.
Arsenal isn’t hurting for options. Balogun is younger and maturing, so yeah, they’re gonna sell him if he doesn’t fit in their system. Milan has done the same thing (for better and worse)