Barcelona and Aston Villa target Balogun as Monaco fears another departure

AS Monaco could suffer a second major departure within days. Following the sale of Maghnes Akliouche to Paris Saint-Germain, the Principality club would now be prepared to sell Folarin Balogun, according to L’Équipe. FC Barcelona and Aston Villa have positioned themselves on the American striker, joining Tottenham who had already expressed interest.

Aston Villa’s interest is directly linked to Ollie Watkins’ future. The Birmingham club is anticipating their striker’s departure to Al-Hilal and has identified Balogun as a potential successor. For Barcelona, the path opened after their chances of signing Julián Álvarez diminished: the Spanish champions see the former Arsenal player as a credible alternative.

Under contract until 2028, Balogun retains solid market value after a season with 19 goals in 43 matches. He is returning from a particularly eventful World Cup, marked by the cancellation of his red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 16 — an intervention attributed to Donald Trump with Gianni Infantino. The striker should return to collective training in the coming days.

His name appears on Monaco’s UEFA list, which could make him available for the Champions League return playoff against Gornik Zabrze, following Monaco’s victory in Poland (2-3). The question now is whether Barcelona and Aston Villa’s interest will translate into concrete offers before the transfer window closes, which would place Monaco in a difficult situation as a decisive European deadline approaches.