Arsenal ‘slap £35m asking price’ on attacker as Premier League rivals express interest in transfer

According to reports, Arsenal have ‘slapped a £35m asking price’ on forward Folarin Balogun amid interest from several clubs around Europe.

Balogun progressed through the ranks at Arsenal and he made his senior debut for the Premier League side during the 2020/21 campaign.

The 21-year-old has scored two goals in ten appearances for Arsenal. After a spell on loan at Championship outfit Middlesbrough, he joined Ligue 1 side Reims for the season ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The Arsenal starlet scored 21 league goals for Reims in 22/23 to place himself among the leading scorers in the division. He ended up eight goals shy of PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe.

The USA international’s form for Reims has attracted interest from clubs around Europe and it remains to be seen whether he has a future at Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta currently has Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah to choose from up front and they are set to sign Germany international Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

The Sun are reporting that ‘Arsenal have slapped a £35m asking price on Balogun’. RB Leipzig have been monitoring his situation but they are ‘now looking at alternatives’.

Premier League side Crystal Palace are ‘fans’ of Balogun and they have been ‘keen’ to sign him but his ‘price tag is too high’.

AC Milan and Inter Milan are among ‘other big admirers’ of Balogun, who admitted during the international break that he “won’t go out on loan again”.

“What I can say is that I definitely won’t go on loan again,” Balogun said.

“I’m not sure on the discussions that are going to take place, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.

“But I’m just committed to now, I try to stay present.”

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Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey thinks it would be a mistake if his former club let Balogun leave this summer.

“I’m not the Arsenal manager but Balogun’s very good. We played against him a couple of times and, from what I saw there, he’s a very exciting player to have in your team,” Ramsey said.

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“Arsenal have many great players but he’s definitely got the quality. And, yes, he’s good enough for the Premier League.”

When speaking about Balogun in February, Arteta said: “He’s a boy that has a really clear idea of what he wants to do with his career. He’s really ambitious, really committed and really brave.

“We discussed a lot before he made that move whether it was the right place to go and the other choices he had. He was so convinced. I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.”

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