It all started a couple of days ago when Everton were first linked with AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun. Late on Monday it was reported by multiple media sources that the Toffees were looking to replace the outgoing striker Beto with the USMNT international who had a breakthrough season last year for the Ligue 1 side, scoring 19 goals and 5 assists in 43 appearances in the league, French Cup and Champions League, including a brace against the eventual champions Paris St Germain.
The Arsenal youth product carried that form into the summer and followed it up with a strong performance in the group stages of the World Cup. He ended up drawing a lot of negative attention in the knockout stages following his red card being rescinded after the US President Donald Trump’s intervention with embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The 25-year-old is yet to feature this season as he is said to be carrying a minor knock from the preseason.
Balogun flew into Liverpool earlier on Tuesday with a deadline day medical scheduled at Finch Farm, which he arrived for in the early afternoon. There was radio silence after his arrival until the early evening when L’Equipe first picked up on some rumblings of discontent. However, the French media source identified the issue as a delay in the announcement of Iliman Ndiaye joining Manchester City.
Then as Everton and USMNT fans waited with bated breath, mainstream transfer media personalities started reporting that there was an issue identified during Balogun’s medical. Suddenly it was looking like the transfer was going to fall through as Everton were feeling very insecure about the initial deal for Balogun which would consist of an initial €45million (£38.58m; $52.3m) plus a futher €5million (£4.3m; $5.8m) in potential add-ons.
It was going to come down to whether Everton felt the player was simply unfit after his summer’s exertions with the United States team at the World Cup, or that their club doctors found some other underlying medical issues that gave them pause for concern.
With the hours ticking down to the transfer window closing, it appears Everton started exploring other options in case they were not able to reach an agreement with the French side. With Beto already gone to Fiorentina, they were running out of possibilities, until they heard that Manchester United were shopping Joshua Zirkzee. The Blues started working on a loan deal for the striker who has previously been linked with the Toffees even before joining the Red Devils. But then United had a change of heart with about an hour left to go until the window shut and refused to let Zirkzee leave, and Everton were back to square one.
But with less than hour to go, it appeared there was some positivity that the two clubs were on the verge of working something out, and Everton filed a deal sheet which would give them a couple more hours after the window closed to get all the paperwork filed to make Balogun a Blue. Toffee sources told The Athletic they had reworked the deal to a total of about £40million ($54m; €46.7m).
While Everton then announced the transfers of Jack Grealish and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, fans assumed that the Folarin Balogun unveiling would cap off the evening. However, after midnight media sources all reported simultaneously that the move had fallen through, with the striker having had a change of heart and leaving the Everton facility without signing a contract.
One assumes that more will come out in the following days about what really transpired at different stages and why exactly Balogun refused to sign for the Blues, but for now it leaves Everton in a very tenuous situation where they have just the one established striker in Thierno Barry, and no cover in that position beyond Tyrique George and Brennan Johnson who can fill in there in a pinch.
Barry has not shown that he can consistently play a full ninety minutes week in and week out, so this will force David Moyes’ hand at a time where he’s already been complaining about needing more reinforcements. The ending to this transfer window highlighted the amateur manner in which Everton conducted the transfer business, and the supporters are already livid and expect a statement from the club’s leadership in the coming days. It will certainly be a hostile atmosphere this coming Sunday when United come visiting Hill Dickinson Stadium.
