AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun found himself at the centre of a dramatic deadline-day transfer saga — and he may now be wondering whether he made the right decision in turning down Everton.
Everton’s summer pursuit of Balogun has taken another twist after the forward rejected a move to Goodison Park on deadline day. Only days after choosing to remain with Monaco, the striker has now been left out of the club’s Europa Conference League squad.
David Moyes’ side had reportedly agreed a deal worth around £40million with AS Monaco for the United States international.
At roughly the same time, Beto completed his £17million move to Fiorentina, forcing Moyes and Everton’s recruitment team to scramble for other options as their proposed deal for Balogun looked increasingly unlikely to be completed.
Manchester United rejected an approach for Joshua Zirkzee, while Tammy Abraham also turned down the chance to join the Toffees from Aston Villa, choosing instead to remain in Unai Emery’s squad.
Everton had even submitted a deal sheet for Balogun, but the player eventually decided not to go ahead with the move. The decision left Moyes with Thierno Barry as his only senior striking option.
Balogun’s situation at Monaco, however, remains uncertain. The American international has been excluded from the club’s squad for their Europa Conference League campaign.
He was also absent from Monaco’s matchday squad for their clash against PSG on Friday evening.
Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro gave his account of the dramatic transfer saga during a press conference on Wednesday. Addressing the situation, he said: “Around 7 p.m., we were contacted by Everton, raising questions about Balogun’s medical, which, for our medical staff, as well as for the player’s personal medical staff, made no sense at all.
“I signed the contract. Everton signed the contract. At the last moment, the players decided not to sign,” Scuro said.
“And basically, Balogun’s allegation is that I’m not feeling well because of the way the club treated me. I’m not feeling well because Everton’s medical department raised doubts about my future or my health.
“I have nothing (no health problem), so I’m not comfortable signing a long contract here. And that’s the way we finish our transfer window.”
Scuro added: “Now we are still waiting for Balo to come back for us to sit and discuss and to realize between us what’s next.
“We still have other markets open, which we are having discussions about with different players, including Balo.
” Let’s see what can still happen until Thursday, because we still have markets that have the financial capacity to do something.”