Arsenal close to Folarin Balogun agreement with Monaco

American striker Folarin Balogun is close to joining French giants Monaco as talks with Arsenal near an agreement over a fee, sources have confirmed to 90min.

The 22-year-old forward is set to leave Arsenal after making it clear to the club's hierarchy he wanted first-team football, which was not on offer at the Emirates as Mikel Arteta has both Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at his disposal.

Balogun spent last season on loan in France where he made a big impression with Stade Reims, netting 21 goals in Ligue 1 and finishing behind only Kylian Mbappe, Alexandre Lacazette and Jonathan David in the division's scoring charts.

A host of sides have spoken with Arsenal, including Inter and Premier League rivals Chelsea, but all were put off by the asking price, which was quickly set at £50m.

However, Monaco have been locked in talks with Arsenal for a number of weeks and now believe they are close to finalising an agreement.

It is understood that the deal is set to be worth around £38.5m (€45m) with other add-ons and a sell-on fee included. Balogun himself has already agreed personal terms with Monaco on a five-year deal.

The Principality side are in need of a striker after losing first-choice forward Breel Embolo, who suffered a season ending knee injury when damaging his cruciate ligament in training earlier this month.

Balogun is now due to arrive and Monaco hope they will conclude a deal before the weekend.

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