Agreed, I have watched Tah play every week for Bayern in the BL and UCL. He's very used to playing vs top strikers (I mean, he trains w/Harry Kane on a daily basis), so not surprising he was so tough. Agree that Balo will be more effective against other backs.
I've watch Balo a bit at Monaco and that doesn't really seem to be his game at the club level. When he does drop back, it's to get the ball and run at defenders much more than playing that "playmaking 9" or "back to goal, CD behind, receive and turn" style. If I'm deploying Balo against a dominant world class back, I'm planning for my offense to use the space that he creates by being marked. Pepi has become much more of a "playmaking 9" if a team is looking for those tactics. Balo either beats his CD or pulls them out of the game a bit. He will sneak around them in the box, but he's not generally a 9 who drops and distributes at a high level.
Thanks for that. I haven't seen him play at Monaco. Being there on Saturday against die Mannschaft, it just really stood out how many times Balo received and lost the ball near midfield with Tah riding his back. Balo just wasn't up to it. I'm sure Poch et al has their tactics worked out to play to Balo's strengths. We're gonna need it! Really hoping and thinking we'll score more than 1 goal this WC. can't wait for tonight!
Yeah, they shut down FB fairly well, but they were vulnerable on the counterattack from other players. He drew a lot of attention.
Showed up Friday night. Damn that second goal - wow. Just wow. Strength, balance, calm, and technical precision.
🚨 Folarin Balogun expected to leave Monaco this summer. Contract 2028 but no talks over new deal + striker favours move. Interest from PL & Europe building amid #FIFAWorldCup form; anticipated #ASMonaco will seek ~€50m to sell #USMNT star @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/mGbUoZF9Wj— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 23, 2026
€50m?! I get that Monaco picked him up for around €30m, but who’s realistically paying that kind of fee for Flo? He’s a quality player—no doubt—but is he truly €50m quality? It feels like only EPL clubs would even consider that price. And even then, how many of the top five actually need him right now? Probably not many. So it really comes down to whether a mid-table English side—somewhere in that 6–15 range—is willing to spend that kind of money on him.
No. It'd be the most expensive center forward sale out of Ligue 1 since Osimhen went to Napoli in 2020. Cherki went to City for €36.5 million on the back of 34 goal contributions in his age 21 season. But negotiations have to start somewhere. I think they'd be happy with €40 million. He did close the season with 9 goals in 12, but he had runs similar to that at Reims and hasn't shown the consistency to sustain that kind of output.
Put down the stats book and look at him move on the field. There are very few guys on this planet that are able to do what he does. He’s worth every bit of €50 million in the current market for strikers.
I’ve seen plenty of him and he isn’t the most valuable striker that Ligue 1 has seen in the last 5 years. 1 open play goal every 3 games, and 1 fully healthy season out of 3, doesn’t get you €50 million for a 25-year-old. Lille wanted that kind of fee for David, who had a similar hype level, and they lost him on a free for a reason.
Morgan Rogers is about to get bought for £100M and, while excellent, he is in no way more than twice the player Balogun is.
After his brace against Paraguay, I've seen Monaco fans resigned to the idea that their club won't be willing to hold on to him.
Fulham might be interested . . . once they actually sign their coach. Fan boards think that the team is moving on from Pepi.
Arsenal also have a sell on clause of I think 17.5 percent which limits their profit. No idea who in the EPL will buy him but guessing it will be one of the non big 6 clubs playing in Europe potentially.
Yeah I thought about Tottenham also but not sure he’d want to go there as a former Arsenal youth player. I was thinking someone like Bournemouth or Brighton. I could also see Man U if Zirkzee leaves and they want more cover at the 9.
I'd love to see him at Fulham, if they don't want Pepi. Also would like to see Trusty get there. He has made strides at Celtic. We need him refined to take over for Timmy,