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Official: Arsenal-owned Folarin Balogun snubs Nigeria and England, commits to USA

Balogun’s international future has been in the balance since he started making waves in the Ligue 1, but he has finally made a decision 

Reims star Folarin Balogun has snubbed Nigeria and switched allegiances from England to the United States of America, Soccernet.ng reports.

Balogun has had a superb season at Reims. He left Arsenal for the club last summer on a season-long loan, and he has impressed massively.

The 21-year-old striker has scored 20 goals in 26 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, and he has turned a lot of heads in Europe. However, Balogun’s next destination has been up in the air.

Also, there has been a lot of talk about the country he would represent on the international level. Balogun was born in America to Nigerian parents, but they moved to England when he was two years old. Because of this, he is eligible to play for any of the three countries.

The Arsenal academy product represented England at youth level, but the question of which country he would commit to has been in the air.

Balogun has now revealed via a post on his Twitter page as corroborated by the US male team that he will play for the Yanks.

According to B/R Football, FIFA has ratified Balogun’s switch of allegiances to the US, and he will be able to play for the country soon.

What are the implications of Balogun’s decision on the Super Eagles?

Nigeria is blessed with a plethora of top strikers around Europe. Victor Osimhen, Terem Moffi, Paul Onuachu, and Kelechi Iheanacho are some of the top names available to Super Eagles boss Jose Peseiro.

If Balogun decided to play for Nigeria, he would still have to play second-fiddle to Osimhen who has been in scintillating form for Napoli this season. As such, he would not really be missed.

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 4:55 pm

Kelvin Omachonu

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  • THAT IS GOOD MOVE.
    AT LEAST YOU WILL BE COLLECTING PENSION AFTER RETIREMENT THAN TO CHOOSE NIGERIA THAT WILL OWE YOU & CHOP YOUR MATCH BONUSES.
    OTHER NIGERIA FOREIGN BORN SHOULD FOLLOW HIS FOOTSTEP

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Kelvin Omachonu

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