Comment on this story
comment
Long in need of a prolific forward, the US men’s national soccer team is on the verge of signing Folarin Balogun, an English prodigy who is one of the top scorers in France’s top flight.
Balogun, 21, has played exclusively for England youth teams for a number of years but remains eligible to play for the United States (his place of birth) and Nigeria (his parents’ home country).
After not being called up for the England senior team last week and retiring from the England Under-21 team, Balogun emerged this week in Orlando, where the US team were holding a training camp. He posted photos of himself on Instagram and attended an Orlando Magic game on Thursday night.
Anthony Hudson, the US interim coach, said: “We had dialogues, we spoke. He’s taking a little break out here [during the international window] and some training. We have had some discussions. Now it’s about him enjoying the rest of his journey.”
To join the US program, Balogun would have to apply to FIFA, the sport’s governing body, for a one-time transfer. (This process takes time.) Having played in an official competition (the 2018 UEFA Under-17 Championship), he is currently linked with England.
Balogun played for the USA U18 national team at a tournament in the Czech Republic in 2018. That squad included defender Bryan Reynolds and winger Taylor Booth, who are in camp for Concacaf Nations League games in Grenada on Friday and against El Salvador in Orlando on Monday.
Hudson said Balogun’s visit was “good because it was an opportunity for us to just share about our program and who we are and what we do. And that’s it. I hope we get another chance to talk to him. So it was good for me and then I know a few other guys spoke to him too.
Balogun, who was born in New York, is an Arsenal prospect on loan at French club Reims this season and has scored 17 goals in 27 league games. He is third in the points race, two behind Canadian Jonathan David (Lille) and French superstar Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) and four more than PSG’s Lionel Messi and Neymar.
He is the youngest player to score at least 16 goals in his first season in Ligue 1 since 1960/61.
Balogun made two Premier League appearances for Arsenal in 2020/21 before being loaned to second tier side Middlesbrough (three goals in 18 games).
Balogun has scored seven goals in 13 games for England U-21.
US star Christian Pulisic said he hasn’t spoken to Balogun since arriving in Orlando, “but I know some of the guys who know him from previous teams and have reached out to him and spoken to him.”
Pulisic added: “Of course we’d love to have him on our side.”
If he joins the US squad, Balogun would become the second young player to have grown up in London and prefer the United States to England. Midfielder Yunus Musah did so in 2020 and started in the World Cup this winter.
The United States hasn’t had a clear starting striker for quite some time. At the World Championships, Josh Sargent started twice and Haji Wright and Jesús Ferreira once each. Ricardo Pepi and Daryl Dike are at camp this week, while Jordan Pefok and Brandon Vazquez are attending.
“The decision has to come from the heart,” said US goalkeeper Matt Turner, an Arsenal player who was with Balogun at Gunners training camp last summer. “We’d be grateful to have him, but his heart has to be in it.”
Balogun’s takeover ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada would be another win in the battle for dual nationality. Last week, Mexican-American forward Alejandro Zendejas signed in the United States.
Balogun told the Ligue 1 website in December that he would make a decision soon.
Speaking of his multinational affiliations, he said: “I have many families in Nigeria. My mother also has family in New York and Atlanta. And London is my city, that’s where I grew up, where my friends are, and when people ask me where I’m from I say I’m English. But yes, I am a mix of all those cultures.”