Arsenal confirmed this afternoon that Folarin Balogun has left North London on a temporary agreement.
The Gunners hitman has dropped down a division by joining Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the current campaign.
The 20-year-old, who has two Premier League outings under his belt, is one of the Arsenal academy’s most exciting prospects.
And hopefully for him and the Emirates Stadium outfit, Balogun returns to Colney next summer a much sharper and experienced footballer.
Balogun took to Instagram on Wednesday afternoon to react to the announcement.
Here’s what the young marksman wrote:
Liverpool star response
Balogun received a lot of positive comments in response, including many by fellow professionals.
One of the more high-profile player to comment was Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who wrote simply: “Good luck bro.”
Different player
As mentioned, this could be the making of Balogun at Arsenal.
Liverpool loaned Harvey Elliott to Blackburn Rovers in the Championship during the summer of 2020 and, prior to his injury in September, he was a mainstay in Jurgen Klopp’s XI.
That’s how influential a short-term spell in the second tier can be and although Balogun will only be there for five months or so, whereas Elliott spent a full campaign away from Liverpool, it’s still enormously beneficial.
The Gunners have extremely high hopes for their young hitman, evident by the fact they signed him up to a £40,000-a-week contract to keep him at the Emirates Stadium.
And it’s genuinely fascinating to see how the youngster will fare in the Championship.
Even if he struggles, it’ll be a case of sending him back on loan during the summer but, having netted two goals in 10 senior appearances for Arsenal already, he may take to regular senior football like a duck to water.
Balogun is nowhere near the finished article but, with a bit of luck, Boro and Chris Wilder can help the lad.
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