Tottenham insist they are not pursuing a deal for Monaco striker Folarin Balogun as they look to boost their forward line. The club are in the market for a striker and want to add attacking players to their ranks after boosting their midfield and defensive ranks so far. Balogun currently has a deal with Monaco in Ligue 1 that runs until 2028.
The 25-year-old striker left Arsenal in 2023 after playing ten times for their first team and scoring twice. He has since taken his career to new heights, scoring 19 goals in all competitions at club level last season while his international exploits took his total into the 20s.
Balogun starred for the United States at the World Cup this summer, scoring three goals as his country reached the last-16. However, he also made headlines when he was sent off during a round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina before the resulting suspension was postponed.
World Cup red card controversy
The incident sparked uproar across the sporting world after it emerged that Donald Trump had called FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the controversial sending off. The intervention prompted allegations of favouritism and political interference, given there had only ever been one instance of an overturned red card in World Cup history, coming back in 1962.
Belgium's players and staff were left incensed ahead of their last-16 meeting with the United States. The Belgian Football Association launched an appeal to FIFA over the matter shortly after the news was announced, only to discover it had been rejected.
The decision came just hours after Trump revealed he had phoned Infantino over the matter and implored him to review Balogun's red card.
"Yeah, I did, I spoke to Gianni. I asked for a review by FIFA," Trump said. "That's all I did. And, you know, again, I'm good at this stuff. That wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed who happened to crash into each other."
"He (Balogun) didn't do anything wrong, and he's our best player, or one of our best players, a very vital player and they gave him a red card," Trump added. "I didn't think it meant much. Then I started hearing that it means you can't play in the next game, at least in the next game."
