Towards the end of last week, the idea that some Serie A clubs could go after Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun has taken flight in Italy.
AC Milan were the first one touted, as their need for a new striker going forward is rather great, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be leaving at the end of the season, leaving only Olivier Giroud as a natural striker.
Then came Inter Milan, as they are still unsure about what they will do with Romelu Lukaku, alongside a tricky situation with Edin Dzeko’s contract renewal.
Therefore, the Arsenal striker, who is currently on loan at Stade de Reims in France, has become a target for them, at least on paper.
The reality is a bit more difficult, as the player will return to the Gunners at the end of the season, and he will then need to be assessed by Mikel Arteta.
Should the former idea prevail, then a big fee will be slapped on his back, far greater than the €20-25m valuation that has floated around of late.
Inter Live have their say on the matter, stating Inter Milan ‘will have identified huge potential in Balogun’, to the point of ‘wanting to try and make a serious attempt for him in the months to come’.
However, that will be complicated, because Arsenal still don’t know what they want to do with him, and if they do decide to sell him, they could ask for, ‘at the very least, a figure of around €40m’.
Therefore, for Inter, unless something changes over the summer, like their owners, they ‘do not have a budget that can afford to close this operation’.
