Balogun's international saga takes fresh twist after England U21 withdrawal

21 March 2023 , 22:01

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Folarin Balogun has pulled out of England U21 duty through injury (Image: Getty)

On-loan Arsenal star Folarin Balogun’s international saga has taken a fresh twist after he withdrew from England ’s U21s squad for March’s fixtures against France and Croatia.

The 21-year-old is playing his trade on loan for Reims in Ligue 1, where he has scored an incredible 18 goals across all competitions for the French outfit. Balogun has always been a highly regarded Gunners academy product - but his meteoric rise in France has fired his international future into the limelight, especially after he was snubbed by Gareth Southgate for England’s senior squad, a decision he appeared to publicly hit out at.

Balogun was instead supposed to turn out for the U21s, who he has already featured for this term, but he has pulled out due to injury. This is despite playing the full 90 minutes in Reims’ last match, a 2-1 loss to Marseille, which he scored in. He has also not been listed by the club as injured, sparking rumours of an international switch.

The striker is eligible to play for England and Nigeria, but he can also play for the USA as he was born in New York. Balogun has represented both England and the USA at youth level - but is yet to earn his first senior international cap.

Balogun was asked about reports surrounding his international future back in November, and told PUNCH Sports Extra : "I don’t have a problem with it. It’s the role of the media to ask these kinds of questions and I accept it.

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"I’m going to make a decision soon and that decision will not depend on what the media or people think but on what is best for me. We will talk about it quietly with my family.

Folarin Balogun has impressed while on loan at Reims and played for the Three Lions' U21s earlier this season (Getty)

"Because my parents are Nigerian, their first language is Yoruba. I have a lot of family in Nigeria. My mother also has family in New York and Atlanta, with whom we exchange regularly and who sometimes visit us in London.

"And London is my city, it’s where I grew up, where my friends are, and if people ask me where I’m from, I say I’m English. But yes, I am a mixture of all these cultures."

The USA are laying the groundwork to have Balogun on their roster with the home World Cup just three years away. Caretaker coach, Anthony Hudson, is trying to convince the player to commit his international future to the country. “All I’ll say, there is open dialogue with him and his team," Hudson told reporters, as reported by Goal. "That dialogue is continuing. That’s all I can say.”

Joshua Mbu