Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun’s future at the club remains up in the air, with the 19-year-old’s current deal set to expire in just a few months time.
It has been claimed that up to 15 European clubs are pursuing the teenager’s signature, and the fact that the striker removed all mentions of the Gunners on his Instagram earlier this month, has heightened concerns that he’ll leave the Emirates.
Manager Mikel Arteta said last month that the club are still confident of keeping Balogun. However, when asked to judge whether the youngster will be staying, supporters on Twitter were more pessimistic:
Gnabry, part II
— RCM (@RCM75571244) March 25, 2021
probably leave and then become a really good player and then we’ll be gutted but we move
— #ArtetaOut? (@bitdodgymate) March 25, 2021
Leaving , isn’t it obvious now?
— ??¹⁹ (@19Natz) March 25, 2021
He’s staying….. Trust me
— JamaalTheBlack (@JamaalTheBlack) March 25, 2021
It’s almost April and he hasn’t signed an extension. He’s off
— Silvino Daniel ?? (@Silvino___) March 25, 2021
He either signs the contract and works hard for gametime or he doesn’t and find himself in the same position elsewhere.If he fixes his attitude he will be the next big thing to come out of Arsenal
— Ryan Allison (@ryanallison041) March 25, 2021
Odds on to leave
— Kevin Martin (@kegsymartin) March 25, 2021
Hes gonna sign the ting
— Carlos (@Humam19_) March 25, 2021
AFC should let him go. All the players who dragged their feet bfr renewing/signing for us never did well. We’re seeing Auba go through the same thing.
— Nana Qwesi GH?? (@NanaQwesi86) March 25, 2021
One thing to keep in mind is that Balogun has the same agent as Bukayo Saka. The winger also took a while to put pen to paper before signing a three-year contract extension last summer, so this could simply be brinkmanship.
However, the fact that Balogun has hardly featured for the first team this season could suggest he may be tempted by a move away in order to get more game time.