Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun set for crunch talks as France trip confirmed

England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley is set for a trip to France in order to try to convince Folarin Balogun to commit his international future to the Three Lions.

The 21-year-old was named in Carsley's squad for the recent international break, but withdrew after complaining of an issue with his right hamstring, an issue which has been prominent this season.

Whilst Carsley told The Athletic that he was confident that Balogun's injury report was 'accurate', there has been wider concerns about his long-term commitment to the Three Lions, after the Arsenal youngster was spotted in the United States during the international break.

Having been born in New York City, Balogun is eligible to play for the United States. As he is yet to make a senior appearance for the Three Lions, the promising young forward could still opt to represent the USMNT. Balgoun is also eligible to play for Nigeria, the birthplace of his parents.

'Hopefully, I can convince him'

England's mid-season international break ended with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia, and after the game, Carsley told the BBC of how much England missed the Reims loanee, but was no secret to the fact he has an important decision to make.

"You're always going to miss a player with that kind of ability and that knack of scoring a goal," he said.

"We have created more than enough chances tonight to get more than the one goal. It would be good to get Flo back.

"Ultimately, he is going to have to make a decision. All we can do is tell him how much we rate him, how much we want to support him and the rest is down to him."

The two-game break allowed Carsley the chance to have a final look at his squad ahead of this summer's European Championships.

The England manager revealed that he will be heading to France in an attempt to convince the youngster to opt for an international career with the Three Lions.

"I'll just be making the point of how important he is to us," he added.

"Hopefully we can talk a little bit about patience and understanding that he is going to have to keep doing what he's doing to break through to the senior team.

"Like a lot of players in our squad, we've got a lot of players that are pushing. Hopefully he can see that. I've been there myself as a young player, you're in a rush and you want to get there quickly.

"Hopefully I can convince him."

Topics: Arsenal, England, Football

Tom Young

@TomYoungSJ