Arsenal are weighing up recalling Folarin Balogun from his loan spell at Reims during the January transfer window, but 90min reports that they are reluctant to disrupt his progress.
The Gunners are facing a nervous wait before they learn how long Gabriel Jesus will be out for. The Brazilian will miss the rest of the World Cup after getting injured in Selecao’s final group game.
It remains to be seen how serious Jesus’ injury is. But it does seem that Arsenal are keeping their options open ahead of the January window. And that includes what they shall do with Balogun.
Arsenal could recall Balogun
The ‘incredible‘ 21-year-old has enjoyed a superb time in France thus far. In fact, he has scored eight goals in 15 games in Ligue 1. Only five players have found the back of the net more often in the division.
90min reports that Arsenal have the option to bring him back to the Emirates in January. And it is something that the club have considered with Jesus sidelined.
However, the Gunners are also wary of bringing Balogun back while he is doing well in France.
It is a tricky situation for Arsenal. They are in a title race in the Premier League. And they will not want to pass up such an amazing opportunity.
However, the Gunners benefitted from leaving William Saliba to grow out on loan. That was despite regular calls for Mikel Arteta to hand him his chance.
Perhaps Saliba would have been ready sooner had he got the opportunity. But it is hard to argue, in hindsight, with how they handled the centre-back.
Balogun is in a similar boat now. So it would be a surprise if they now decided to deviate from their plans.