Matt Turner says Yanks 'grateful' if Balogun chooses USMNT
Matt Turner has claimed that the USMNT would be “grateful” to have Folarin Balogun. The two are teammates at Premier League side Arsenal, but Balogun is currently on loan with Ligue 1 club Reims. Balogun has already scored 18 goals for the French club in 29 total matches during the current campaign. However, he did not make it into the England squad for the March Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Turner, arguably the USMNT’s number one keeper, spoke on their relationship with reporters on Tuesday.
“I spoke to Flo. We obviously had most of our preseason together, and I knew going into it he had some roots in the U.S.,” Turner stated at a recent press conference. “So he and I developed a relationship pretty quickly. That’s pretty much the extent of it. We check in on each other here and there.”
“He’d be a great addition to our national team. I think he’s done really well, obviously, for his club on loan, and we’ll see. The decision has to come from the heart, because it’s not necessarily an easy task to come and play in these CONCACAF games. It’s a tough region at times. So for us, we’d be really grateful to have him, but his heart needs to be in it.”
Highly-rated striker not yet declared allegiance
Balogun is eligible to play for either the USMNT, England or Nigeria. The striker was born in New York, but moved to England at the age of two. He has represented both the Three Lions and the Yanks at various youth levels.
The 21-year-old in-demand forward recently discussed his future with Sky Sports. “My international future is not decided yet in terms of who I’ll play for, but of course I want to play international football at the highest level in the World Cups and I want to compete at the highest level,” Balogun proclaimed.
“I want to put myself in positions where I’m performing in front of millions of people.”
Balogun is possibly in Orlando, close to USMNT camp and Turner
Twitter sleuths determined that Balogun was supposedly in Orlando on Wednesday. The striker was named in England’s U-21 team earlier in the week, but he pulled out of the squad because of an apparent injury.
Orlando would be a particularly interesting place for Balogun to be. The USMNT is currently training in the area as they prepare for two CONCACAF Nations League matchups. The Americans travel to Grenada on Friday, before hosting El Salvador on Monday. USMNT fans will be hoping that Balgoun is in the sunshine state for more than just a vacation.
PHOTO: IMAGO / PRiME Media Images