England boss Gareth Southgate has sent a message to Arsenal starlet Folarin Balogun over the possibility of a future Three Lions call-up.
Balogun is currently on loan at French side Reims from the Gunners, and last month became Ligue 1's top goalscorer for the season.
He has since been overtaken by Lille's Jonathan David and PSG's Kylian Mbappe, but his seasonal tally of 17 goals remains highly impressive.
The 21-year-old is currently playing under the management of Will Still, who has clearly got the best out of the forward during the side's 19-game unbeaten run in the league.
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There have been rumours of Balogun returning to Arsenal at the end of the season, or potentially leaving the club if he cannot be guaranteed enough game time.
But there has also been talk about his international allegiance. The striker has represented both United States and England at youth level - he has seven goals in 13 caps for England U21s - but is also eligible to play for Nigeria.
Earlier this week, USA interim boss Anthony Hudson confirmed that there had been discussions over Balogun representing the nation at senior level.
The striker was pictured at an Orlando Magic basketball game during the current international break, and Hudson told The Athletic: "As I've said before, we've had dialogue, we've spoken, he's out here having a bit of a break and some training and we've had some discussions.
"Now, it's just about him enjoying the rest of his trip."
Meanwhile, speaking before England's Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine on Saturday, Three Lions boss Southgate sent a message to the Gunners forward.
Southgate on Balogun
Southgate has urged the 21-year-old to remain patient and wait for his England opportunity, and stated that he will not give players call-ups simply to stop them from playing for other nations.
He explained (quotes via Daily Mail): "It is up to the player to weigh up where his feels. Is he prepared to wait a little bit for an opportunity if he backs himself and feels he can push his way into the squad?
"Because anybody who has followed us will know that we will give young players a chance. So, we cannot go and give first team call-ups to someone just because we don't want them to go somewhere else."
"We like Flo [Balogun]. He has obviously not had an opportunity in the Premier League yet, so we have to weigh up those goals to Ivan [Toney] for example, or Ollie Watkins, or Eddie Nketiah, who has done really well with the opportunity he has had at Arsenal.
"I know there are going to be offers as 80 per cent of our players can play for more than one country now, and we are not arrogant expecting everybody to want to come to play for England.
"We have to make them feel wanted and feel part of that."
Topics: Arsenal, Premier League, Gareth Southgate, England
Ryan Smart