Olivier Giroud has sent a message of support to Folarin Balogun, with the Arsenal loanee being eyed by AC Milan after impressing on loan with Stade Reims.
Balogun has been on fire for Reims this season, with his strike in their 1-0 win over Monaco on Sunday moving him onto 17 goals in 28 games in all competitions. The 21-year-old has been a revelation in Ligue 1 – only Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and Lille’s Jonathan David are above him in the scoring charts.
Arsenal sent Balogun on loan to Reims for the season to get more first-team experience and have been rewarded with some red-hot form. Balogun showed his talents by running in behind the Monaco defence to score the game’s only goal on Sunday.
It was exactly the kind of goal that has scouts from AC Milan interested, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that the Italian giants, as well as rivals Inter Milan, are keeping a close eye on Balogun. Milan are set to lose Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer, while Divock Origi hasn’t contributed much since arriving from Liverpool.
Arsenal reportedly value Balogun at €25million (£22m), with manager Mikel Arteta a big fan of the youngster. Former Arsenal striker Giroud is also a fan – and Balogun could even become his replacement at Milan, with The Sun reporting that the 36-year-old is eyeing a move back to the Premier League when his contract expires this summer.
Balogun was spoken to Canal+ before the Monaco game last weekend and was shown a video message from. He said: “Yo, what’s up, baby Gunner? I hope you are good. I am glad to see you banging goals in Ligue 1 in France.
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“I remember you when you played for the youth teams in Arsenal. I am very happy for you and you deserve to be there. Carry on like that. Keep it up. Wish you all the best, bro. Take care.”
After watching the video, Balogun said: “Wow, it’s very nice to see this. I didn’t expect to see this. It’s good. I think he deserved a lot more credit because in his career he has played at the highest level in Europe. There are not a lot of top strikers like Giroud. When I look at Giroud, I look at to his link-up play.”
Arteta was key in keeping Balogun at Arsenal amid much uncertainty about his future in 2021 and has frequently praised the young striker. The Gunners are not interested in selling him – instead they want to integrate him in the first-team squad next season, alongside Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
Balogun is full of confidence and is already targeting a return to Arsenal. “For me, it’s a special, special season that’s happening right now,” he told Canal +. “It’s not a surprise because I have a lot of belief in myself and I also have a lot of confidence.
“But when I will look back on my time in France I’ll realise this was something really special and I’ll appreciate it a lot more when the season is over. My feeling right now is I’m very, very happy here.”
