Why Balogun’s return is such a huge boost for AS Monaco
The return of Folarin Balogun is terrific news for AS Monaco in what looms as a tense race to the finish in Ligue 1 to secure Champions League qualification.
Having been sidelined since the start of December with a frustrating and complicated dislocated shoulder injury that was initially suffered in October, the USMNT striker’s positively back available for Adi Hutter’s men.
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Making a very successful comeback against Brighton & Hove Albion’s U23s in a friendly last week, where he impressively bagged a treble, this gave him some vital minutes and a valuable boost of confidence ahead of the colossal derby with OGC Nice.
“Balo is indeed back and available for Saturday’s match. He had the opportunity to play with the Elite Group against Brighton’s reserves and had a very good match, scoring a hat-trick. He’s ready to play,” Hutter shared at the pre-match press conference.
Given he had found the back of the net in three consecutive league matches prior to his latest spell on the outer, he’s eager to pick up where he left off. While he made his return in ASM’s tremendous derby triumph, playing 14 minutes, Hutter crucially doesn’t need to rush things due to the sensational form of January signing Mika Biereth, who’s already bagged 12 goals in his 10 Ligue 1 games, and the solid output of Breel Embolo.
Allowing the Austrian tactician the luxury of easing him back in, he’ll be valuable off the bench to begin with and add some massive impetus in place of Biereth and Embolo or to supplement these powerhouses.
“He is ready to play, but after such a long absence, we must give him time to continue to improve physically. Everyone is back except Kassoum, which is the most important thing as we approach the final sprint. For a coach, this is very good news,” Hutter added in his post-match comments.
Demonstrating emphatically during his handy run of form earlier in the crusade what a weapon he is and why he’s considered one of the most exciting young forwards in European football, there’s no denying what an asset he is to Les Monegasques.
Bringing so much to the table with his physicality, athleticism, finishing prowess and footballing intelligence, he could be a huge difference-maker in the all-important run-in.
Such a force when running in behind and into the box, his initial acceleration, immense top speed and clever timing of his surges ensures he’s so difficult to stop when in full flight. Judging rapidly where colleagues and defenders are, he tailors his runs shrewdly to be a quality outlet while gaining separation from markers so they can’t impede his bursts.
The fact he chooses coherently when to drop deep and link play escalates his menace and how tough he is to contain, for he does a fine job of exploiting space between the lines to connect the midfield and attack. Seeing as he’s so strong, powerful, balanced and has a neat first touch and sharp ball control then allows him to hold the ball up before bringing others into play.
His presence notably means he provides his team with an outstanding option for not just crosses and cutbacks into the box, but also when his team opts to go long in build-up, where he poses as a fantastic target to help his team win second balls in midfield zones.
His finishing skills will surely come in handy, both when starting or coming off the bench, for his aptitude here means he’s able to score from a variety of situations.
His shot maps below illustrate this, with his capacity to beat the keeper from range, with assertive headers, via clinical 1v1s, courtesy of instinctive close-range efforts and after some nifty dribbles making him a major threat.
While he’s struggled to recapture his electric form from two seasons ago, where he scored a marvellous 21 goals for Will Still’s Reims when on loan from Arsenal, which was the catalyst for Monaco snapping him up in a €40 million deal, he’ll be aiming to reach those heights sooner rather than later.
Obviously injuries haven’t helped his cause, in combination with form issues and the elevated competition for places at ASM, but it’s not through a lack of trying.
Desperate to find consistency, stay healthy and gain imperative continuity, his words from the early stages of the term gave an interesting insight into his approach and desire to succeed at Les Rouge et Blanc.
“My goal at the start of each season is obviously to do better than the previous one and to progress. It’s certain that this year I want even more to settle in and be important for the team, but it’s not something that obsesses me. I simply have to do everything to show good things,” he insisted.
He then added this on how much he loves playing within Hutter’s offensively geared framework: “Obviously it’s a great pleasure to play in this team. Our team creates a lot of goalscoring opportunities, and I think we’ve reached a new level in this area this season. For a striker, it’s great to be able to play with such an offensive style of play.”
Knowing he has the full trust and faith of his teammates and manager, and that he also has the ingredients to be one of the finest forwards around, the remaining fixtures will give the 23-year-old many opportunities to flex his muscles when called upon.
Keen to impress and delighted to be back out there, Balogun, the fans and everyone at the Principality club will be hoping this is the start of him truly stamping his mark at Monaco.
Only time will tell if it, in fact, is, but after all his hard work, persistence and patience, it would be brilliant to see him rewarded by recapturing his best level and closing the campaign on a high note.
With his first competitive action of 2025 now out of the way, following his journey to get back to the top will be captivating.