High Stakes Battle for Folarin Balogun: Monaco Intensify Talks while Chelsea Joins the Race

Monaco and Arsenal are engaged in ongoing discussions regarding the potential acquisition of striker Folarin Balogun, who has also caught the attention of Chelsea, the US international's services being of interest to them as well.

Chelsea has initiated preliminary discussions with intermediaries to explore the terms of a possible agreement for the talented 22-year-old.

However, a source has informed We News that if Balogun were to move to Chelsea, Arsenal would ask for a higher price compared to if he were to go to a foreign club. Monaco, the French team, has not made an improved offer for Balogun yet. However, discussions are reportedly focused on reaching a broad agreement regarding the transfer fee before finalizing the payment structure.

So far, Arsenal have not budged on their £50m valuation.

Personal terms are not expected to be a problem and Balogun is open to the move to the Ligue 1 outfit.

He spent last season on loan in France at Reims and scored 21 league goals in 34 starts.

Chelsea looking at viable exit options for Lukaku

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Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku spent last season on loan at Inter Milan

Chelsea's interest in Balogun comes amid an uncertain future for Romelu Lukaku at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea is actively exploring potential exit opportunities for the striker as he remains sidelined from the first-team training sessions. Lukaku expresses a strong preference for a move to Juventus, and the Italian club is eager to negotiate a deal. However, Juve must first make sales in order to finance a permanent transfer.

The clubs considered a possible exchange deal centered around Dusan Vlahovic. However, they were unable to come to an agreement on the terms. It is believed that Juventus requested £34m as well as Lukaku in exchange for the talented Serbian striker.

In their Serie A season opener against Udinese on Sunday, Vlahovic played from the start and managed to score in Juventus' 3-0 victory.

Chelsea has consistently shown their preference for a long-term agreement with Lukaku, and currently, that stance remains unchanged.

Thus far, Lukaku has firmly rejected the idea of transferring to Saudi Arabia at this point in his professional journey.

If Lukaku remains at Chelsea until the window closes, the club hopes he will contemplate the possibility, as the Saudi window shuts on September 7. Mauricio Pochettino, the Chelsea boss, has excluded Lukaku from his plans and has entrusted his future to the club, essentially indicating that he will not be selected as long as Pochettino remains in charge.

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