da 888casino： The USMNT striker has opted to stay in Ligue 1, giving him continuity and comfort, but is that a good thing for him ahead of the Copa America?

da aviator aposta： Folarin Balogun has finally got his move away from Arsenal. It took nearly the whole summer, but we always knew it was a matter of where and when, not if. After his breakout on loan with Reims last season, someone bigger would come knocking, and we have waited until the final days of the window to find out who that someone would be.

In the end, it was Monaco, who have completed a deal to keep the U.S. men's national team star in Ligue 1, the league he dominated last season despite playing for its 11th-best team. In moving to Monaco, he's certainly moved up the ladder, although he hasn't taken the leap into the unknown it felt like he would at different points this summer.

That, of course, comes with positives and negatives. On the plus side, the task in front of Balogun will be a somewhat familiar one, as a bigger Ligue 1 club will now ask him to simply continue his goalscoring form from last season. On the negative side, though, is the thought that Balogun could have potentially found himself at a new challenge in a new league, one he hasn't already lit up for 20-plus goals so early in his career.

Either way, this move kind of feels like the move before the move, a gradual step up the ladder that allows him to make an even bigger one if he proves last season wasn't a one-off. He'll face some new challenges at Monaco as he looks to break into a significantly better team, but Balogun's new situation seems set up for him to show what made him a rising star in his old one.

GettySummer of rumors

Midway through last season, it became clear that Balogun was going to be a wanted man. With 21 top-flight goals to his name before his 22nd birthday, clubs all over the world took notice. His parent club, Arsenal, was among them, as rumors frequently swirled about his future at the club. Could he unseat Eddie Nketiah as the club's homegrown back-up, or would his future lie away from the Emirates?

In the end, the answer was the latter, and Arsenal were paid a pretty penny for it. The Gunners will collect a massive €40 million (£34m/$43m) fee for the young striker, a significant chunk of money for an academy player who made just 10 first-team appearances for the club.

All summer, though, it was unclear which club would win the sweepstakes. Would be Inter or AC Milan? Could it be RB Leipzig? Chelsea, Tottenham and Fulham were among the Premier League teams linked; could the allure of staying in England be too much for other clubs to compete with?

Monaco, though, eventually won out. By signing with Les Rouge et Blanc, Balogun takes a step up the ladder, although it isn't the massive leap many thought he could take.

AdvertisementGettySituation at Monaco

Balogun may have dominated Ligue 1 last season, but he won't just walk into the Monaco XI. The club has a solid group of forwards, headlined by French star Wissam Ben Yedder, the club's talismanic striker.

Ben Yedder, who joined the club in 2019, has 102 goals in 170 games for Monaco, including four in three games to start the Ligue 1 season. It has to be said, though, that the forward is facing potential legal trouble after reportedly being charged with rape, sexual assault and attempted rape. Ben Yedder has denied the allegations and has continued to play.

Aside from Ben Yedder, who is 33, Monaco has young Dutch forward Myron Boadu, who, like Balogun, is just 22. Thus far, he's scored just nine goals in 58 appearances in all competitions, though. You can also add Swiss star Breel Embolo to the mix, but he's set to be out for some time after injuring his ACL in pre-season.

There is competition, for sure, but Monaco didn't spend all of that money on Balogun for no reason. The striker is the club's joint-most expensive signing, after all, alongside James Rodriguez. They didn't sign a bench-warmer, they signed a goalscorer, and that's what they'll expect of him this season.

GettyWhat to expect from Balogun

The most exciting part of this move is that, in theory, it should be seamless. Balogun knows exactly what to expect in Ligue 1 and, having taken a step up in size of club, he'll have better team-mates around him than he ever did at Reims.

He scored one of his goals last season against Monaco, an 87th-minute game-winner back in March, so they'll be plenty familiar with his game. He also scored against fellow powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille last season, as even the heavy-hitters weren't immune to Balogun.

Because of that, the transition will be much easier than if he, say, moved to Milan or Leipzig. He knows the league, the stadiums, the defenders… the only thing left to do is simply prove that he can do what he did last season all over again.

Unfortunately, unlike the Milan clubs or Leipzig, Monaco do not offer the prospect of European soccer. There's no Champions League, no Europa League and no Conference League to look forward to. Balogun's big challenge is to get Monaco back to that level after they stumbled in 2022-23.

Can he be a Golden Boot contender in Ligue 1? Why not? He was one last year and, with players like Takumi Minamino and Aleksandr Golovin feeding him, there's no reason to believe he can't be in the mix again this season.

Those are the expectations he laid out for himself with his form last season and, by returning to Ligue 1, Balogun has acknowledged, whether consciously or subconsciously, that he believes that was only the beginning.

GettyThe USMNT angle

The USMNT's forwards have been snake bitten for the last several years; that's one of the big reasons there's so much hype around Balogun. For the first time in so, so long, the U.S. seemingly has a forward that is of the level, or perhaps better, than his team-mates in this rising generation.

Too often the U.S. has seen strikers have their confidence sapped by poor transfers. Ricardo Pepi's transfer to Augsburg effectively cost him a World Cup spot and it took a loan spell at Groningen for him to find his touch again. Josh Sargent's move to Werder Bremen was a disaster and his first few years at Norwich City weren't much better, even if he is thriving now. Daryl Dike has been cruelly plagued by the injury bug since moving to England, while Jordan Pefok cooled off a bunch after a hot start at Union Berlin.

Because of that, the USMNT should be just fine with this decision by Balogun. For strikers, the most important factors in any move are playing time and confidence, and Balogun should be able to find plenty at Monaco.

A move to a different league or club would have come with unknowns. How would he adjust, on and off the field? How would he fit in the league stylistically? Could he replicate his 2022-23 season? The move to Monaco, though, should remove those doubts. It's a new club in a familiar setting, and that gives Balogun the chance to keep on rolling.

For the USMNT, that is paramount. They can't afford another striker to be crushed by a crisis of confidence. With the Copa America looming, and Balogun still needing good minutes on the international level to adjust to the program, it's key that he comes into every camp happy, healthy and ready to score goals.

Because of that, it's probably for the best that he didn't take some crazy risk. The U.S. will be just fine seeing Balogun light up the French league for another few years, as long as he's able to carry that sort of form right back with him to the international stage.