Chelsea close in on Arsenal star with personal terms AGREED
Robin Bairner
- 23 Aug 2023 07:28 BST
- 3 min read
Folarin Balogun’s move to Chelsea could be go, with Arsenal having showing a willingness to budge on the striker’s transfer fee.
FootballTransfers exclusively revealed on Monday that the USMNT striker has agreed personal terms with Chelsea over a transfer, with a dialogue between the two clubs open over a deal.
We reported at that time that there was optimism from the Blues’ side that a deal might be struck between the two London giants, but that the major threat to a transfer was Arsenal’s £50 million asking price.
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The Mirror reports that Mikel Arteta’s men finally seem willing to budge on their valuation of the striker, who netted 21 goals in France’s top flight for Reims during a loan spell last season.
With the transfer window having less than a fortnight to run, Arsenal appear increasingly flexible over their price, with a deal possible at a little over £40m.
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There has already been significant interest from several clubs in Balogun, with Inter, Monaco and Fulham all taking a close look at the Hale End graduate. All three have been put off by Arsenal’s £50m asking price, however.
Monaco did have an offer of around £34m (€40m) rebuffed by the Emirates side, underlining their determination to stick to their valuation of the player.
Chelsea to compromise over Balogun
Chelsea, meanwhile, previously indicated that their valuation of Balogun was just £30m, but it appears that Todd Boehly will be willing to meet Arsenal somewhere in the middle to get a transfer over the line.
Despite another big summer spend, Chelsea find themselves short of attacking options due to an injury to Christopher Nkunku that is set to see the France international sidelined until December. Nicolas Jackson is their other recognised centre-forward option with Armando Broja still making his way back from a serious knee injury.
