Juventus
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Arsenal’s academy keeps supplying players who build careers away from the Emirates, and several are doing so this season.
Joe Willock, who came through the Gunners’ youth system, is now a Newcastle midfielder.
He scored on the opening day of the Premier League season in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool, and one stats provider credits him with two goals in his first six league games.
Emile Smith Rowe, another former Arsenal academy player, has had a quieter start at Fulham, whom he joined in August 2024.
He has made only a handful of league appearances and has yet to score in the Premier League this season, though he did get a goal in the League Cup.
Eddie Nketiah has started well at Crystal Palace, scoring his first goal of the season in a Europa League win over Lech Poznan. That takes his tally to one goal and two assists in four appearances.
Folarin Balogun followed a similar route.
Born in New York and raised in London, he came through Arsenal’s youth ranks before spells at Middlesbrough and Reims, then joined Monaco in August 2023 after just two league outings for the Gunners. He has since scored 31 goals in 91 games for the French club.
Balogun’s last year had plenty of highs. He scored three times as the United States reached the World Cup knockout rounds this summer, finishing as the side’s top scorer, and his 13 Ligue 1 goals last season were the fourth most in the division.
This campaign, however, has gone very differently, and it has put his future back under discussion.
According to Tuttosport, Juventus have made Balogun their main target for January as they look to fix problems in attack.
The Italian paper says the 25-year-old tops their winter list for both technical and financial reasons, and expects him to leave Monaco in a deal reportedly worth €48 million after a summer move to Everton fell through.
That transfer collapsed hours before the window shut. Monaco’s Thiago Scuro said Everton queried Balogun’s medical results, and the player then refused to sign, unhappy with how the club had dealt with the matter.
Since then, opportunities have been scarce. Balogun has played only 74 minutes across four appearances this season, with Paris Brunner and Matthis Abline, signed from Nantes for around €25 million, ahead of him in the pecking order.
He was left out of the squad for Monaco’s 2-1 win at Paris Saint-Germain in September and was not registered for the Conference League league phase.
With his contract running to 2028, Tuttosport believes he will depart either in January or at the end of the season.
Juventus are looking for a forward with different attributes from those Luciano Spalletti currently has, and they also want to add a left-back.
Randal Kolo Muani and Nick Woltemade arrived last summer. Balogun’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has a strong relationship with the club, which could smooth negotiations, and Tuttosport reports he is prepared to offer his client to the Bianconeri.
Juve are also keeping tabs on Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth, who has returned from injury and is fighting for a place in Diego Simeone’s attack, and Frosinone’s Antonio Raimondo, though a January deal for the latter could prove tricky.