Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun has reportedly emerged as a surprise transfer target for Chelsea.
Balogun has just enjoyed the best season of his career, contributing 21 goals and three assists from 37 appearances in Ligue 1 during a loan spell at Reims.
However, it has been perceived for some time that the form of the 22-year-old would not necessarily lead to him earning a place in Mikel Arteta's squad for 2023-24.
Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are already ahead of Balogun in the pecking order, while Arteta also has the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz who can play down the middle of the attack.
Balogun, now a United States international, is also eager for regular game time and is not interested in another loan spell at a point in his career where he has just two years left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
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Such a scenario appears likely to lead to Balogun joining one of the many clubs interested in his signature, the likes of AC Milan, Inter Milan and a number of Premier League clubs among those said to be monitoring the situation.
Nevertheless, according to Football Transfers, per The Mirror, Chelsea have registered an interest in signing Balogun during the summer transfer window.
The West Londoners are already said to have held discussions with the player's representatives over a potential switch to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have already added to their attacking options this summer with Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson having both signed from RB Leipzig and Villarreal respectively.
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With Armando Broja also bidding to return to the fold after a serious knee injury, head coach Mauricio Pochettino effectively has three options for the head of his frontline.
That said, it appears that the Argentine remains in the market for another fresh face for that position, with Chelsea seemingly open to exploring their new-found business relationship with one of their fierce rivals.
Since the turn of the year, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have allowed Jorginho and Havertz to sign for last season's Premier League runners-up.
In those instances, Chelsea needed to sell in order to boost their position with FFP, yet Arsenal face the prospect of needing to meet such criteria over the coming weeks.
Their summer spending is expected to top £200m by the end of the week with Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice both on the brink of joining Arteta's squad from Ajax and West Ham United respectively.
Darren Plant
