Arsenal wonderkid Folarin Balogun set to hand England huge blow as he considers choosing to play for Nigeria

ARSENAL striker Folarin Balogun admits he’s open to choosing Nigeria ahead of England amid sensational loan form for Reims.

Balogun, 21, is joint fifth-highest scorer in Ligue 1 on seven goals – one ahead of Lionel Messi and equal with former Gunner Alexandre Lacazette.

AFP

Folarin Balogun has netted seven times in the French top flight this season, three behind leading scorer Kylian Mbappe and two short of Neymar[/caption]

AFP

It’s what Reims are made of – Balogun’s astonishing loan form for the Ligue 1 club has opened up questions about his international future[/caption]

The New York-born starlet also netted seven times in 13 games for England Under-21s, but his parents are from Nigeria.

And he told BBC Sport Africa: “I haven’t heard anything from Nigeria, but I’m open to anything because Nigeria is very close to my heart. 

“My family’s from there. I always have love for Nigeria.

“That’s a conversation that I need to have with people around me, my agent and obviously my family.

“But if I was asked about the opportunity to play for Nigeria, then I can have that conversation. But first I need to be asked.”

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is among those to praise Balogun for both his decision to join Reims in the first place and his performances since.

Henry told Amazon Prime Video last month: “He’s a very English-style player who likes to run down the channels but he was missing something, which was his finishing.

“He’s now starting to score goals regularly and I’m happy for that – happy he has gone abroad.”

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Balogun himself said: “I had a lot of advice telling me that this would be a good league for me to develop. 

“Now that I am here, I’m seeing the benefits of this league and I’m happy that I can help the team.”