Folarin Balogun joining USMNT? 'We'd be really grateful to have him,' says Matt Turner

By Doug McIntyre
Updated Mar 22, 2023 4:17 pm ET

United States World Cup goalkeeper Matt Turner is hoping Arsenal teammate Folarin Balogun opts to join him on with the U.S. squad, saying Wednesday that the sought after striker "would be a great addition to our national team."

Loaned by the Gunners to French club Reims before this season, Balogun has emerged as one of the top goalscorers in Ligue 1, where his 17 goals trail only Jonathan David and Kylian Mbappé. The 21-year-old striker's breakout campaign all but ensures that he'll either stay with Premier League-leading Arsenal in 2023-24 or be sold to another top European club.

His future at the international level, however, is far less clear. Balogun has played for the U.S. under-18 national team but represented England's youth squads more recently. He was training with the Three Lions' U-21s this week before an injury apparently forced him to withdraw from camp.

That prompted speculation that Balogun could be on the verge of a switch back the U.S. Those whispers turned deafening after Balogun was apparently pictured Wednesday in Orlando, where the USMNT is training this week. Born in New York and raised in London, Balogun is also eligible to play for Nigeria.

"I've spoken to Flo — we obviously had most of our preseason together, and I knew going into it that he had some roots in the U.S." Turner said of Bologun Wednesday on a Zoom call with reporters. "Him and I developed a relationship pretty quickly."

The U.S. has been hugely successful in recent years when it comes to recruiting players who can rep more than one country. Alex Zendejas, who played twice for Mexico's senior team, became the most recent example when he committed to the U.S. last week. He joins 2022 World Cup starters Sergiño Dest and Yunus Musah, who chose the USMNT over the Netherlands and England/Italy/Ghana respectively.

Interim USMNT coach Anthony Hudson said last week that he's also been in touch with Balogun. "All I'll say is that there is open dialogue with him and his team," Hudson said. "That dialogue is continuing."

For good reason. Center forward has long been among the Americans' weakest positions; two of the three goals the U.S. managed at Qatar 2022 came from wingers Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah. Haji Wright, who scored a fluky goal in the round of 16 loss to the Netherlands, was the only striker who find the net.

Balogun would immediately compete for a starting spot with the U.S. With England, he'd be behind Marcus Rashford, captain Harry Kane and possibly others on manager Gareth Southgate's depth chart.

Last week, Hudson called in Daryl Dike and Ricardo Pepi for Friday's CONCACAF Nations League match in Grenada and another March 27 in Orlando. Wright and the injured Josh Sargent were among those omitted this month.

"He's done really well, obviously, for his club on loan," Turner said of Balogun, who he's stayed in touch with since they met last summer. "We check in on each other here and there."

Despite that, Turner hasn't been actively trying to convince the youngster to opt for the U.S.

"The decision has to come from the heart," Turner said. "It's not necessarily an easy task always to come and play in these CONCACAF games. It's a tough region at times.

"We'd be really grateful to have him," Turner added. "But his heart needs to be in it."

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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