Monaco Target January Sale of Folarin Balogun to Keep Key Duo
Monaco will prioritise a January exit for Folarin Balogun, with chief executive Thiago Scuro stating that a deal for the United States striker would help the club retain Lamine Camara and Aleksandr Golovin through the rest of the season.
The 25-year-old is central to Monaco’s winter plans after the club failed to move him on during the summer. Selling Balogun is also tied to financial commitments made to the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog, as Monaco seek to balance their accounts through player trading.
Balogun sale is Monaco’s key winter target
Scuro said Monaco’s preferred route is clear: find a new club for Balogun, then avoid further major departures in January.
“The initial idea is to find a solution for Balogun,” Scuro said. “If that happens, Monaco can keep Lamine Camara and Aleksandr Golovin until the end of the season. That is the ideal scenario, although we cannot decide everything that will happen in winter.”
- Folarin Balogun: Monaco’s leading outgoing priority.
- Lamine Camara and Aleksandr Golovin: players Monaco hope to keep until the campaign ends.
- Monaco’s recruitment needs: a right-sided winger and a defensive midfielder.
Everton move collapsed after medical
- Balogun travelled to Liverpool on the final day of the August transfer window for an Everton medical.
- Everton’s medical team raised fitness concerns.
- The forward became uncomfortable about completing the transfer, and the proposed move broke down late in the window.
- Monaco were left unable to complete their planned sales and reinvest in other positions.
Scuro admitted the failed departure altered the club’s January approach. “We had an agreement with Balogun,” he said. “What happened changes our plans for this winter a little, but finding a solution for him was always the plan.”
Squad imbalance to be addressed
Balogun remaining at the club has created both financial and tactical problems. Monaco are carrying too many centre-forwards while lacking natural wide options, a squad imbalance highlighted by coach Filipe Luís.
Scuro also conceded Monaco did not fully deliver their summer strategy. He said the club were unable to execute the plan “100%” and that earlier player exits could have created more time to bring in replacements.
Balogun joined Monaco from Arsenal after a prolific loan spell at Reims but has not reproduced that output in the Principality. A winter transfer would offer him the regular minutes needed to protect his place in the USMNT picture, while giving Monaco room to target the winger and holding midfielder they need.
What happens next
Monaco will look for a permanent solution for Balogun when the January market opens. If a sale is completed, the club’s aim is to keep Camara and Golovin and use the revised squad space to correct the weaknesses left unresolved in August.
