Why Monaco appear to be pricing striker Folarin Balogun out of a summer move

[p]The 25-year-old was an unwilling participant in one of the most controversial and unpalatable decisions ever made by football's governing body, FIFA.[/p][h2]FIFA's red card reversal tarnished the World Cup[/h2][p]Despite being sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the intervention of US president Donald Trump saw to it that FIFA reversed their decision, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/balgun-folarin/rVZLmUsU/"]Balogun[/a] was allowed to play on.[/p][p]It was a set of circumstances that drew widespread criticism, and calls for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to step down.[/p][embed guid="3ee5c5ff-b9c0-42a4-b922-a6260ed48a22" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2073828193568436595?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]Fast forward to the present day, and whilst the furore has died down, Infantino is still facing growing calls for his departure amidst another hair-brained idea from the man with no hair.[/p][p]From Balogun's point of view, the controversy seems to have overshadowed his exploits on the pitch, and has meant less of a focus on what he can offer a prospective new employer, given his willingness to want to move on from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/monaco/2PIvr8o4/"]AS Monaco[/a] in the current transfer window.[/p][h2]Monaco want €50m for Balogun[/h2][p]Reports would appear to indicate that the French club are happy to move the player on, and as Flashscore's transfer expert, [i][b]Dean Jones[/b][/i], noted, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/soccer-fifa-club-world-cup-folarin-balogun-wants-out-of-monaco-but-who-s-going-to-make-a-move-for-him/K4mVdaOb/"]their fee of €50m for his services rubber-stamps their position[/a].[/p][p]Clearly unwilling to let Balogun leave for next to nothing, their valuation, by its very definition, is putting the player in the shop window for other clubs to make their move.[/p][embed guid="f8f2dcfd-6ee6-42ba-8944-f1d0483849ce" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2087350616867705327" social-type="twitter" /][p]The problem is that no club has done so, and with less than a week to go until the summer transfer window closes for business, that's an issue.[/p][p]Balogun hasn't been training with his teammates of late, and was also left out of the Monaco squad for their opening fixture of the 2026/27 campaign against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/le-havre/CIEe04GT/"]Le Havre[/a], as well as the Europa Conference League Playoff first leg against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/gornik-zabrze/2LH3Ywq4/"]Gornik Zabrze[/a].[/p][h2]Top scorer last season[/h2][p]Whether any interested parties come forward over the next few days will be known shortly, but what will they be getting for their money?[/p][p]The former [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] academy graduate started in 38 of his 43 appearances in all competitions during 2025/26, scoring 19 goals - more than anyone else - and providing four assists.[/p][image alt="Folarin Balogun's career stats" id="b85c841a-1ead-484a-9eb9-ced899948cee" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="9f71d8db-aac3-4a69-94c3-f8d509bcfdd6" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]A player who's always been quick from a standing start or otherwise, he showed a clean pair of heels to opposition defenders, making 16 fast breaks during the season, which again was the most in the Monaco squad.[/p][p]His shot accuracy topped out at 62.5% with a conversion rate as high as 21.74%, both being a more than acceptable return for a striker, whilst Balogun should also be satisfied with his 45% success in terms of converting big chances.[/p][h2]Not a target man[/h2][p]Clearly not a target man in the traditional sense, just four headers on target from 17 attempted is more than enough of a hint that the American does his best work on the floor, and when the ball is played in behind the last defender (or over the top), which allows him to utilise his devastating burst of pace.[/p][p]As if to labour the point, just 30 headed duels won from 107 attempted is another fairly damning statistic.[/p][image alt="Folarin Balogun's recent player ratings" id="089d4dbc-7460-4b34-9c3e-c5aa70fa230d" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="04e8e4e5-a576-416f-a002-3b23f34edf8c" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Ground one-on-ones could also be said not to necessarily be his forte, with only 118 won from 319 attempted, and only seven tackles attempted during the whole season; this adds to metrics that could be putting off potential buyers.[/p][p]Passing-wise, Balogun was fairly constant in his output last season, hitting between 73% and 75% in all competitions, which could do with being improved upon slightly, particularly if the player is going to be looked to for link-up play as well as goals.[/p][h2]Definite improvement required[/h2][p]Keeping him more central is a must, too, as just three successful crosses from 19 attempted would attest.[/p][p]Given his age, there's certainly no reason why Balogun couldn't improve his numbers in the right environment.[/p][p]However, clubs being expected to pay €50m would be fully justified in their view that the player would have to bring a lot more to the party than just pace and goals, particularly if the idea is that the striker should end up in a much more physical Premier League. [/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]