Former USMNT defender Alexi Lalas has opened up on whether he thinks that New York City-born, Ligue 1 striker Folarin Balogun would live up to the hype if he committed to the Star and Stripes.
Speaking on the latest episode of his State of the Union Podcast on Wednesday, the Fox Sports analyst was asked if he thinks USMNT officials are 'just renting the spot' to other eligible American strikers until Balogun switches allegiances, having previously represented England at youth level.
'I mean, so talk about anointing, right? I mean, it's as if, basically, he has a starting position. He has, you know, the keys to the city and all the cities when it comes to America,' said Lalas, who has 10 goals in 96 appearances for the US.
'No, I mean, just the decision, it becomes and hopefully it does because he is a good quality player, just the decision is great. But then you have to actually get into it. And we have seen players that just because their pedigree was good doesn't necessarily mean they come into the national team and they live up to it.
'I hope that he does, because that is a position of need,' the 52-year-old further said, though he warned the Stade de Reims striker, who's on loan from Arsenal: 'But don't think for a second that others aren't going to challenge him, even with less pedigree or less experienced going forwards.
'It's a good thing, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get into it. But it looks good for now, and we've wooed him to the extent that we can or even should and you know now we'll see if all that wooing pays off with him blessing us with his presence going forward.'
So far in 27 matches across all competitions this season, Balogun's scored 17 goals for Reims, who are ninth in Ligue 1 standings, five years after being promoted to the elite tier of French soccer.
Born to Nigerian parents in New York, Balogun traveled back to his country of birth to meet with U.S. interim coach Anthony Hudson last week, as the Americans try to persuade the youngster to commit to their national team over England and Nigeria.
The U.S. was training in Orlando, Florida, ahead of its 7-1 routing of Grenada last week in the CONCACAF Nations League, and before beating El Salvador 1-0 at Exploria Stadium on Monday.
'We've had dialogue. We've spoken. He's out here having a bit of a break and some training and we've had some discussions,' Hudson said Thursday after the U.S. team arrived in Grenada. 'Now it's about him just enjoying the rest of his trip.'
'It's been an opportunity for us just to share about our program and who we are and what we do,' Hudson added. 'I hope we get the chance to speak to him again. It's been good to me. And I know a few of the guys have spoke to him, as well.'
Balogun attended the Orlando Magic's game against the New York Knicks on Thursday night and was also at the New York Yankees spring training camp.
Balogun's 17 Ligue 1 goals for Reims this season make him third in scoring behind Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappé and Lille's Jonathan David, who have 19 goals each.
Wissam Ben Yedder, of Monaco, and Alexandre Lacazette, of Lyon, also have scored 17 goals this season.