Arsenal are in the midst of a huge summer of additions – and one outgoing could see them rake in a huge fee for a homegrown talent
(Image credit: DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal are ready to let an academy product leave the club – for a whopping £50 million.
The Gunners' Hale End production line has stepped up in the past few seasons to produce some of the club's leading talents, with Mikel Arteta utilising the academy heavily. This was partly due to necessity of having reduced spending power – but has fostered a culture of opportunity for youngsters.
Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have been the standout stars, taking the No.7 and No.10 shirts in the first team respectively, while the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson have broke through in recent times, too.
Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith have helped revolutionise Arsenal's style and culture (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
With Arsenal now looking to compete at the top of the Premier League now and with ambitions to add big-money players to their side, the academy may now be used a little differently, with Hale Enders potential money-spinners to bolster cash reserves.
Indeed, Sky Sports'Dharmesh Sheth has claimed that striker Folarin Balogun is now priced at a whopping £50 million ahead of his next move.
Balogun lit up Ligue 1 on loan last season with Reims under Will Still, netting 22 times with the French side and earning call-ups to the US men's national team. The 21-year-old spurned advances from England, who he played with as a youth star, to represent the nation of his birth.
But with the pathway to being first-choice No.9 for the Gunners looking tough – Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz could all play there next season – Balogun wants regular action at this point in his career. The forward has requested a permanent transfer, with Arsenal likely to insert a buyback clause.
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Folarin Balogun is a recently-capped United States international (Image credit: Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
According to the Mail, Crystal Palace are interested in the striker, with Roy Hodgson remaining at Selhurst Park next season.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
