With Divock Origi struggling to have any impact since his free move from Liverpool and Olivier Giroud edging towards his 40s, AC Milan are going to need fresh blood up front, and they have their eye on someone at Arsenal.
That’s what Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting on Friday, claiming that Folarin Balogun’s performances at Stade de Reims on loan this season haven’t gone unnoticed.
Knowing they will need to bring in someone new in the next transfer window, they state their search for a new goalscorer ‘will lead to a young profile’, and ‘among the names circled in red’ is that of the Arsenal striker.
They go over his growth at the Gunners, recalling his loan at Middlesbrough, before spending some time on the great season he is having in France.
With no option to buy in the deal with the Ligue 1 side, Balogun ‘will return to Arsenal’, where he will find ‘fierce and unusual competition’, as there are more ‘false nines than classic centre-forwards’ in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
That’s why they believe this ‘could become an advantage for Milan’, who need a proper goalscorer.
There is one obstacle, however, and that’s the price Arsenal will put on his head, because we are today ‘around €20-25m’, but that amount ‘could rise between now and June’.
This is the reason why going as far as possible in the Champions League is key for the Serie A side, with their win against Tottenham set to bring in a fair chunk of cash, which they hope to improve by beating whomever they get drawn against in the quarter finals, if possible.
