Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun is attracting more and more interest ahead of the January transfer window with Saint-Etienne now interested.
The Sun claim that Middlesbrough are leading the race for Balogun as Chris Wilder looks to land a major coup.
Championship rivals Bournemouth and Swansea City are also keen, but there is now interest from France.
Saint-Etienne fancy taking Balogun on loan and have sent scout Romain Barq to watch him in action.
Balogun may not be featuring for Arsenal’s first team, but he is still thriving in their Under-23’s.
Balogun – branded ‘unique’ by Mikel Arteta – has hit a ridiculous 14 goals in just 10 outings in Premier League 2.
The 20-year-old isn’t close to first-team action at Arsenal but is clearly too good for development football.
A loan move in January simply has to happen for Balogun, who needs playing time away from the Emirates Stadium.
Saint-Etienne now offer an interesting option given their prior relationship with Arsenal.
The French side sold William Saliba to Arsenal in 2019, before taking the defender back on loan for a season.
Former Leicester and Southampton boss Claude Puel is in charge of Saint-Etienne and was a favourite of Arsene Wenger at Monaco.
You can see why Arsenal may fancy sending Balogun to Ligue 1, but there is still over a month until the transfer window opens – plenty of time for Mikel Arteta, Edu and Balogun to decide on a destination.
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