Arsenal would have had to pay financial penalty to recall Folarin Balogun in January

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Arsenal could have triggered the recall option in Folarin Balogun’s loan deal, but they would have had to pay a penalty.

The Athletic have published a detailed report on Arsenal’s January transfer dealings.

All in all, it appears to have been a positive month of business for Mikel Arteta.

Although arguably their two top targets didn’t arrive at The Emirates, they did make three great signings.

After months of pursuing Mykhaylo Mudryk, Chelsea hijacked the deal at the last moment.

With just a few days to go, they turned their attention to Moises Caicedo.

However, Brighton refused to change their stance of his departure and Arsenal missed out again.

They did do business with The Seagulls earlier in the window, signing Leandro Trossard.

Trossard was joined by Jakub Kiwior and Jorginho through the doors at The Emirates.

Talks over whether Arsenal needed a centre-forward also broke out after Gabriel Jesus picked up a serious injury.

In the end, this was deemed unnecessary due to Eddie Nketiah’s exceptional form.

However, Arsenal could have recalled Folarin Balogun in January, but never considered this an option.

Arsenal would have had to pay to recall Balogun in January

The report from The Athletic elaborates, saying:  ‘It is a compliment to Eddie Nketiah’s form that a new centre-forward to replace Gabriel Jesus was never under discussion.

‘Arsenal had the option of recalling Folarin Balogun from Reims, but it would have incurred certain financial penalties, and was not considered best for the striker’s development.’

Balogun is playing fantastically well for Stade Reims, and has 11 goals in 19 appearances.

Disrupting that loan spell wouldn’t have been beneficiary for Balogun, who just scored a last-minute equaliser against PSG.

Arsenal will hope Balogun could return in a similar way to William Saliba when he’s finally recalled from his loan.

The defender returned from three loan spells in France, and has slotted straight into Arteta’s starting line-up.

Balogun is unlikely to do this given Jesus and Nketiah’s presence, but he will certainly be a valuable option.

However, it’s no surprise Arsenal didn’t want to pay a financial penalty to recall Balogun when his loan spell is going so well.