Arsenal make $44m Folarin Balogun transfer decision as USMNT star's exit path becomes clear

Arsenal transfer news: Folarin Balogun continues to attact the attention of teams from across Europe as the Gunners fight to secure the best deal for their striker

Arsenal have reportedly rejected a bid from Inter for Folarin Balogun as the striker looks increasingly likely to leave the club this summer.

It had been reported that a loan move for the player was being considered with a £30million ($38m) obligation to buy after one season plus £5million ($6.4m) in fees over the season, but that is yet to come to fruition.

The player is said to have a £50million ($64m) price tag on his head having broken through into European football last year with a brilliant spell at Stade de Reims in France. With Kai Havertz now the latest to join the ever growing list of attacking options at the Emirates Stadium, Balogun's role is far from clear.

He is already competing with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah for a starting role with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli having also featured as a centre forward over the past 12 months. Havertz is another that can play further forward but football.london understands he is also seen as a midfielder under Mikel Arteta.

"He was unavailable," Arteta said. "He has a little foot injury and hasn’t been training with us." His path into selection is also not set in stone. "We will see [when he returns]. First of all, he needs to be fit and play minutes."

Report from Sportmediaset, via Sport Witness, in Italy suggest that Inter wish to spend the same amount on the 22-year-old as they would have on Romelu Lukaku, who was first choice. Their offer to Chelsea was the same but that was rejected as being too low and now the same issue has occured here.

Meanwhile, former Blues striker Alvaro Morata is also on their shortlist of potential attacking options for the remainder of the window. Progress towards a deal for him has been slow though with Balogun taking priority.

It now leaves Arsenal in a sticky situation where they risk losing the only concrete offer currently on the table for Balogun but they also don't want to be seen to undervalue him or not get a deserved price for their academy graduate.

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