Matt Turner Stakes Claim For Returning Folarin Balogun, Backs Him To Make Impact After Outscoring Neymar, Messi On Loan At Stade de Reims
Written by Olaleye Oluwadamilola
Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner is tipping Folarin Balogun to be a great addition to the Gunners side when he returns from loan at Reims this summer having outscored Lionel Messi and Neymar in Ligue 1 under Will Smith.
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Folarin Balogun will be returning to North London club, Arsenal on the back of 21 goals in 37 games in Ligue 1 after the expiration of his loan deal with Stade de Reims but the newly recruited USMNT international may compete for game time with Eddie Nketiah.
There are also reports that Balogun is leaning towards a permanent move away from Arsenal this summer as he wants a club where he can have a sense of feeling and will turn down any offers of another loan move with a sale in sight to fund Mikel Arteta’s title push for next season.
Arsenal and USA goalkeeper Matt Turner has tipped team-mate for club and country Folarin Balogun to fit right in at the Emirates Stadium when he returns from loan in France.
The New York-born striker had represented England at youth level before declaring for the USA in May and he has since been included alongside Turner in a 24-man squad for the upcoming CONCACAF Nations League finals games against Mexico and one of Panama or Canada.
And his team-mate Turner thinks that he will be a great addition to the north London side once he returns from loan at Ligue 1 side Reims, where he has been scoring goals for fun all season.
“I had a pre-season with him at Arsenal and we developed a pretty good relationship but then he left to go on loan,” the stopper began. “He scored lots of goals on his loan spell and he has done really, really well.”
“It’s someone to be excited about and I think that knowing his personality, he’ll fit in well with the group.”
“Flo is a really talented player that’s going to bring a fiery edge to the group, he’s a super competitive guy and that fits in well with the people we have in this locker room already.”
“He’s going to have to earn his right to play just like everybody else does and when he gets his chance hopefully he puts the ball in the back of the net,” the goalkeeper said of his prospects with the national side.
Meanwhile…
OGC Nice interim manager, Didier Digard has conceded that he doesn’t know if he will continue with the club after discussions over his long term future emerge following the expiration of his short term deal with the club.
Speaking recently in an interview where he assessed his team’s finish on the log, the French manager disclosed that he hasn’t decided on his future yet but he’s in no rush to get things in place.
Read Also – Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo: Can He Live Up To Expectation As France’s ‘Next Varane’?
“I’d like to know as soon as possible but, to be honest, I don’t really know what the situation is, so I can’t make any demands. I can’t make any definitive plans. The most important thing is the work we’ve accomplished.”
“I’m very happy, and whatever happens will happen. I’m very proud of what the coaching staff and the squad have achieved. We’ve come 4th in the time we’ve been working together. I think that’s what this squad deserved and should have achieved.”
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