Sky journalist shares update live on air on Chelsea’s interest in Folarin Balogun

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Arsenal may be about to enter negotiations with London rivals Chelsea with Folarin Balogun the subject of their talks.

Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth shared more details about the young striker’s future live on air.

Folarin Balogun has now been told by manager Mikel Arteta that he needs to find a new club this summer.

The 22-year-old was sensational for Stade Reims last season but that has turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing for Arenal.

Balogun has no interest in being a fringe player this season or going out of loan once again.

Given Gabriel Jesus is still Arteta’s first-choice striker and Eddie Nketiah has impressed as his deputy, the opportunity simply isn’t there for Balogun to play regularly.

Balogun’s availability at Arsenal has alerted Chelsea who need a striker of their own.

Nicolas Jackson has arrived but a serious injury to Christopher Nkunku has scuppered Mauricio Pochettino’s plans.

The 22-year-old forward could end up being the perfect solution for Chelsea, but a deal is unlikely to be straightforward.

Chelsea want Arsenal youngster Balogun

Asked about the latest information on Balogun’s future, Sheth said: “Interesting developments on this one actually because positive talks we’re told are continuing between Monaco and Arsenal over the signing of [Folarin] Balogun.

“Monaco have yet to go back in with an improved bid after they had one bid rejected, but what we think is happening, is that discussions are centring around the actual broad agreement between the fee before they start to finalise what kind of structure and payment terms this fee will look like.

“Personal terms are not expected to be a problem for Balogun and we think he’s open to the move.

“Interestingly, Chelsea have also shown an interest in Balogun, I’m told that tentative talks have taken place with intermediaries who want to find out the conditions of the deal.

“Now, there is one source who’s told me that the conditions for the deal for Chelsea might be different to the conditions of the deal for a club outside the Premier League.

“And we think Arsenal might want to raise the valuation if there were going to sell to Chelsea or another Premier League club compared to if they wanted to sell to Monaco.

“As it stands, Arsenal haven’t budged on their £50m valuation, and I just wonder if it is higher if Chelsea came to the party.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Arsenal preferred to sell Balogun to Monaco rather than Chelsea, even if the Blues offered more money.

Deciding to sell Balogun is a big decision for the Gunners and has plenty of potential to backfire given his potential.

They would rather Balogun thrives away from the Premier League so that he can come back to haunt them regularly.

However, as Chelsea have shown this summer, if they want to sign a player, they don’t tend to be cautious when it comes to bringing their desired targets in.