South Londoners Fulham are readying a move for Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun, having identified him as their no.1 target to replace talisman Aleksandr Mitrovic, who is edging closer to a move to Saudi Arabia.
Marco Silva’s side have been in danger of losing their Serbian striker all summer amid interest from Al-Hilal, and now seem set to do so after the Saudi side tabled a bid worth close to £50m for his services, with Mitrovic keen to leave Craven Cottage.
Though a recent bid for the striker has been neither accepted nor rejected at this stage, it is understood that Fulham are exploring the market for a replacement should one be available, and have turned to Arsenal’s Balogun as one of their top targets.
The USMNT striker is coming off an exceptional loan spell in Ligue 1, where he scored 22 times for Stade des Reims, and has been linked with clubs across Europe this summer after telling the media that he definitely wouldn’t be leaving on loan again this season.
However, moves to Inter Milan and Monaco have both broken down, with Arsenal demanding £50m for the youngster this summer.
As per the London Evening Standard, Fulham are the latest side to show an interest in the youngster, though they too could be put off by the price and will ‘likely try to reduce that fee significantly’.
With few suitors for Balogun, Mikel Arteta’s side may be forced to drop their hefty asking price if they wish to shift him this summer, though they could include clauses to increase the value of the deal further down the line, including a sell-on clause or buy back should they be confident of his success.
