Arsenal hold out for £50m valuation for 22-year-old Chelsea target

Chelsea and Monaco remain interested in £50m-rated Arsenal striker Florian Balogun

As per Sky Sports correspondent Dharmesh Sheth, Arsenal are adamant about their £50m valuation for Florian Balogun amidst interest from Chelsea and AS Monaco.

Chelsea exhibited their interest in signing the USA international, while Monaco have had their initial bid turned down by Arsenal as it did not meet the player’s transfer valuation.

It remains to be seen if we will see a twist in this story in the coming days. Chelsea could actually do with another striker in the squad before the transfer window deadline.

Mauricio Pochettino currently has Nicolas Jackson as the lone option upfront. Armando Broja is still a fair bit away from full fitness after picking up an ACL injury late last year.

Christopher Nkunku, an attacking midfielder who can operate as a false nine, is out till December due to a knee injury he picked up during the pre-season.

Coming back to Balogun, he has had two productive loan spells in the past two seasons. In the 2022/23 campaign, the 22-year-old scored 22 goals and assisted three in 38 games in all competitions for Ligue 1 side Stade Reims.

He has all the attributes to become an elite striker in years to come. In the current market, demanding £50m for a striker is not over the top. We have just seen Chelsea break the British transfer record for a defensive midfielder – Moises Caicedo.

Let’s hope the Blues dip into the market to sign Balogun in the coming days. They are currently keeping Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson in sight to boost up the number 10 position.

More Chelsea News

• Mauricio Pochettino says they have a quality striker in Nicolas Jackson who will make his mark
• Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea target Elye Wahi has passed his medical at RC Lens
• Transfer News: Chelsea will turn down AC Milan’s bid for Armando Broja

A lot of transfer activities may yet take place before the 31st of August. After an indifferent start to the season, Pochettino must realise his squad needs improvement through additions like Balogun.