Inter Milan are seriously exploring a deal for £50m-rated Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun after dropping their interest in Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter, helping the Italian side to win the Coppa Italia and reach the Champions League final. However, his hopes of sealing a permanent move back to the club he played for between 2019 and 2021 have been ended by Inter’s decision to move onto other striker targets.
Inter see 22-year-old USA international Balogun as one for the future, although no formal offer has yet been made for the player, who flew out to the States for Arsenal’s pre-season tour on Sunday.
When asked about Balogun’s future, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said: “we will see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea now have two serious bidders for Lukaku.
Juventus have held talks and are prepared to pay 40m Euros, including add-ons. However, any bid is likely to depend on them selling Dusan Vlahovic.
Lukaku’s other option is Al Hilal, although it’s though his preference at this stage is to remain in European football.
He is not expected to go on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the US.
Analysis: Why Arsenal could regret letting Balogun go
Chris Wilder and his assistant Alan Knill have a rule when it comes to young recruits. “We try not to take anybody on their first loan,” Knill says. The reason? “It’s always such a learning period.”
But when Folarin Balogun became available during their time in charge of Middlesbrough in the Championship in 2022, they knew they had to make an exception. Some players are too good to turn down. “He was just such a talent,” adds Knill.
Middlesbrough did not see the full extent of that talent in the end. Balogun, although prolific in Arsenal’s academy and with England’s youth teams, would depart the Riverside Stadium having only scored three times in 18 Championship appearances.
But even then, after an awkward introduction to senior football and before his stunning, 21-goal campaign on loan at Reims, there was little doubt about the direction in which he was heading…
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