Chelsea lodge enquiry over Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun
- Balogun scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 last season
- United States striker was left out of Arsenal's opening Premier League squad
- Chelsea are exploring signing a new striker
Chelsea have enquired about a possible deal to sign Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun this summer, 90min understands.
Balogun, 22, shone during a season-long loan with Stade Reims in France last season, bagging 21 goals and finishing behind only Kylian Mbappe, Alexandre Lacazette and Jonathan David in the Ligue 1 scoring charts.
A summer departure is on the cards for Balogun, who has already confirmed publicly that he will not accept another loan deal, and clubs from across Europe have registered their interest this window.
A £50m asking price was placed on Balogun's head earlier this summer - enough to scare Monaco and Inter away from negotiations.
Chelsea have now joined the pursuit and sources have confirmed to 90min that contact has been made with Balogun's representatives to gauge his interest in a possible move.
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Blues officials have also reached out to Arsenal to enquire about an asking price for the striker, whose contract at the Emirates Stadium still has two years left to run.
Even before Christopher Nkunku was ruled out for four months with a knee injury, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino had admitted his interest in signing a new striker and the boss confirmed in Friday's press conference that Chelsea were "looking at all of the options that we can manage on the market" when it comes to forwards.
Nicolas Jackson joined Chelsea this summer from Villarreal while Pochettino also gave special mention to academy graduate Armando Broja, who is still working to return from an ACL injury suffered earlier this year, but interest in signing a new forward remains.
Arsenal have begrudgingly decided to listen to offers for Balogun, who has rebuffed conversations over a new contract in search of guarantees of regular first-team minutes.
A £30m bid from Monaco was recently rejected, with Arsenal valuing the striker at closer to £50m.
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