Recruitment battle between three countries : Arsenal loanee Balogun sets the record straight

Arsenal-owned striker Folarin Balogun is one of the most in-form strikers of Nigerian descent plying their trade in the European Leagues this season.   

Balogun, who was loaned out to Stade de Reims last August, has plundered seventeen goals in the French Ligue 1, two less than the joint-top scorers Jonathan David and Kylian Mbappe, and four ahead of PSG superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar.

He missed out on selection for England's senior squad this month but was named on the U21 roster, only to pull out of the squad on Tuesday as a result of injury.

Balogun has two big decisions to make on his future in the coming months, whether to remain at boyhood club Arsenal and also a decision on his international future.

Although the Hale End Academy product has been playing for England for about five years, he also qualifies to represent the United States where he was born as well as Nigeria, where his parents hail from.

There has been speculation in recent weeks that Balogun may be tempted to switch his international allegiance to the United States as he is yet to feature in Gareth Southgate's plans.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Balogun said : "My international future is not decided yet in terms of who I'll play for, but of course I want to play international football at the highest level in the World Cups and I want to compete at the highest level.

"I want to put myself in positions where I'm performing in front of millions of people."

Born in New York, Balogun has netted seven goals in thirteen matches for England U21s and was a member of the Young Lions squad to the 2018 European U17 Championship.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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