Having given up their chase of Romelu Lukaku, one of the main names Inter Milan have turned to of late is Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun.
Gazzetta dello Sport have a big article on the Gunners striker in their Monday print edition, and reveal why there is a good chance that a deal could get done for the USA international.
Left out of the Community Shield winning squad on Sunday (allegedly because of an injury), the Arsenal player still congratulated his teammates on social media, but that’s as far as it went.
They claim Balogun now wants to move to Inter Milan ‘so badly that he can no longer hold back’, recently wishing Marcus Thuram a happy birthday, which they see as a ‘subliminal message’.
It’s pointed out that his relationship with Arsenal ‘has broken’ both in private and in public, and the footballer has ‘reiterated to management and coach Arteta that he wants to play’ after spending most of the pre-season watching on.
This isn’t what he was hoping for after a very good loan at Stade de Reims last season, but any negotiation with the Gunners is ‘far from easy’.
It’s pointed out that Beppe Marotta, Piero Ausilio and Simone Inzaghi all ‘stayed until late in the evening’ on Saturday to discuss a potential move for Balogun.
Gazzetta point out that ‘diplomatic contacts have always been maintained with him’, and there is now a belief that Arsenal’s asking price of €50m ‘can be lowered’.
This is why the money in their bank ‘will be transformed into a formal offer this week’, expected to be of €30m that can become €35m with bonuses ‘and a large percentage on resale’.
For Arsenal, that’s a decent deal, especially when it’s very likely that Inter, when they sell, will make a profit, such is his potential.
