Chelsea have competition for Folarin Balogun with Arsenal set to receive £35million bid
Monaco are set to make a formal bid worth more than £35million for Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, talkSPORT understands.
Chelsea have also held tentative talks with Balogun's advisers over a potential move to Stamford Bridge.
2
It was recently suggested that the USA international was open to a switch across London to join the Blues.
However it is Monaco that are leading the race to prise the 22-year-old away from the Gunners.
Balogun was valued at £35m by Arsenal earlier in the summer, but it is now believed Arsenal are holding out for a fee closer to £50m.
With the youngster still having two years left on his contract, Arsenal aren't in a rush to cash in on their academy graduate.
READ MORE ON ARSENAL
Though they would welcome a big-money exit following a summer which has seen them spend over £200m.
Monaco know all about Balogun, with the centre-forward enjoying a stunning loan spell in France last season at Reims, where he banged in 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games.
He had even scored Reims' winner at Monaco's Stade Louis-II in March.
Arsenal fans had hoped that he would be given a chance under Mikel Arteta, but it appears he has been deemed as surplus to requirements.
Most read in Football
2
He remains behind Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah in the pecking order, and doesn't appear to be in Arteta's current thinking.
Despite Jesus' minor knee injury, Balogun has failed to be included in a matchday squad so far this season.
And it is unlikely he will be in contention to face Fulham at the Emirates on Saturday.
The Cottagers are another club that have been touted as a possible destination for Balogun as a replacement for Aleksandar Mitrovic.
In total, Balogun has featured in ten competitive matches for Arsenal - scoring twice.
Both of those goals came in the Europa League in the 2020/21 season where he found the back of the net against Molde and Dundalk.
talkSPORT football match centre
Keep up-to-date with all the latest Arsenal fixtures and results and live Premier League standings in our new match centre.
