'Hopefully I can convince him' - England U21 boss to hold talks with Arsenal loanee Balogun

England U-21 manager Lee Carsley is set to head to France for a discussion with Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun over his international future.

​BBalogun was named by Carsley in his squad to face Croatia and France in the just-concluded international break but pulled out due to an injury.

Balogun's non-participation in recent games for the England youth side has sparked speculation that he is on the verge of switching his international allegiance.

Interim manager of the United States Men's National Team, Anthony Hudson, has confirmed that he has held talks with Balogun about representing the US.

Balogun, who was born in New York, had initially featured for the US U-18 side and might be pondering representing the senior team.

In quotes relayed by the BBC, Carsely said : "Hopefully we can talk a little bit about patience and understanding that he is going to have to keep doing what he's doing to break through to the senior team.

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"Like a lot of players in our squad, we've got a lot of players that are pushing. Hopefully, ly he can see that. I've been there myself as a young player, you're in a rush and you want to get there quickly.

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"Hopefully I can convince him."

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Balogun has featured 13 times for the England U21s and scored 7 goals for Lee Carsley's side.

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The Hale End Academy graduate, who shares the same Nigerian agent as Super Eagles stars Joe Aribo, Josh Maja, Ola Aina and Alex Iwobi, qualifies to represent Nigeria through his parents. 

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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