Folarin Balogun has been making waves in France with his loan spell at Reims in Ligue 1.
The young striker is currently the top scorer in the league, and there’s reason to believe that he could have a similar impact to William Saliba when he returns to Arsenal.
Saliba’s time on loan out at Marseille and Nice helped the centre-back hone his craft and become the player he is today, and there’s no reason to believe that Balogun’s loan spell at Reims won’t do the same.
He’s the top scorer in the entirety of France, and that’s no mean feat considering that the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Jonathan David are also vying for the Golden Boot.
While Balogun has plenty to prove in the Premier League, there’s no denying that is showing that he has the right attributes to be a star in England. As we all know, the Premier League is a fast-paced and physical league, and Balogun has shown the pace and fight to be able to thrive in this environment.
Of course, Arsenal currently have Gabriel Jesus as their number nine, but if they wanted to pivot towards more of a pure goalscorer rather than a creator, then Balogun is their man.
One of the key factors in Balogun’s potential success will be the number of chances he gets to score.
Let’s face it, Arsenal are likely to create more chances for Balogun than Reims are. With the likes of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in the side, there’s no reason to believe that Balogun won’t have plenty of opportunities to score goals, it’s just whether or not he can continue his momentum and play off of the confidence he has built in France.
Arsenal have already benefitted massively from sending one of their young stars to France in recent years in the shape of Saliba, and now, Balogun could be on that same trajectory.
This loan model has already worked for Arsenal with Saliba, and now, Balogun could be about to make the same jump and become a star for the Gunners.
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