Legend says he’s not surprised that Arsenal could sell star for £35m

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USA legend Alexi Lalas is not surprised Premier League giants Arsenal want around £35 million for Folarin Balogun with a decision needing to be made on the America international’s future. 

You would maybe expect – after Folarin Balogun scored 22 goals on loan at Stade de Reims in France last season – that Mikel Arteta would be welcoming the Arsenal academy graduate back with open arms to the Emirates Stadium. 

Especially considering that neither Gabriel Jesus nor Eddie Nketiah can really be described as prolific Premier League goalscorers.

So while reports from The Sun suggesting that Balogun may be available for transfer have raised a few eyebrows, the size of his asking price comes as far less of a shock to Alexi Lalas. 

Arsenal could sell Folarin Balogun

“The number (price-tag) doesn’t surprise me,” Lalas says on his State of the Union podcast, responding to claims that the New York-born Balogun could leave Arsenal for around £35 million.  

“These are kind of teams who are not only rich but are also notorious for loaning out loads of players. It’s like someone who is rich owning loads of houses. They can afford to set the price.

“The price-tag does not come as a surprise to me because they are not desperate to sell him. If they do, they might as well get as much money as they possibly can.

“Who knows? If they come to a point where they truly don’t believe he is part of their future, then they’ll just take whatever they can get. But they certainly aren’t at this point yet.”

Balogun finished fourth in the Ligue 1 Golden Boot race last season. Only Kylian Mbappe, Jonathan David and former Arsenal team-mate Alexandre Lacazette scored more. 

Lalas, however, wonders if this could be another ‘Jadon Sancho situation’. Can Balogun really make the step up to arguably Europe’s most competitive league? Or is France’s top-flight – arguably like Sancho at Borussia Dortmund – his limit. 

“Is he going to be a Jadon Sancho type of situation?” Lalas wonders. “Is he going to come back and actually have benefitted from the time (away) and live up to whatever cache he has accumulated in other places?”