Why Nigeria should give Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun a chance as soon as possible

It took him some time but it appears Folarin Balogun is finally acclimatising to first-team football and settling in quite nicely at Middlesbrough where he has been on loan from Arsenal.

The 20-year old scored for Middlesbrough today in a 4-0 thrashing of Peterborough away from home, making it three goals in his last four appearances.

This is a dramatic turn of events for Balogun who failed to score in any of his first nine league games for Boro, leaving many wondering if he wasn’t ready to make the jump to regular first-team football just yet.

Balogun had been dominating youth football with 13 goals in 11 Premier League 2 appearances for the Arsenal under 21s last season but many young players often find it difficult to adjust from that to real football at the top level.

And so did Balogun initially but he appears to finally be getting used to it which is why Nigeria must act very fast in luring this kid to commit as soon as possible.

The idea of inviting a 20-year old in his first senior season to the national team might seem a little premature to some but it might turn out to be a worthy gamble.

Folarin Balogun was born in the United States to Nigerian parents and grew up in England for whom he has already played at every youth level.

Calling him up at the next realistic opportunity or at least showing interest in him would help Nigeria steal a march on the competition, both of whom will be at the World Cup in December.

That’s not to say that Balogun will be at the World Cup with either England or the United States if Nigeria does not invite him before then because that too is unrealistic.

But isn’t it better to be safe than sorry? If Nigeria had moved with urgency towards Bukayo Saka, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and the likes before they got mainstream attention, they may be wearing Super Eagles colours right now.

The purists may not like this idea one bit but think about it, if Nigeria hadn’t caught Maduka Okoye early, it would be harder to do so now that he’s considered one of the best young goalkeepers in Europe.

This is a player who could be a suitable partner or deputy to Victor Osimhen by the time the 2026 FIFA World Cup rolls around.

Balogun has the pace, athleticism and finishing ability to thrive at the top level and Mikel Arteta reportedly likes him so his path at Arsenal might be clear really soon.

With Aubameyang gone and Lacazette halfway out, Balogun could be on course to be Arsenal's starting centre-forward, exactly the type of profile we want in the Super Eagles.