Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro confirms USMNT star Folarin Balogun set for January exit after summer transfer

The decision to put Balogun on the market is not merely a tactical one but a financial necessity for the Principality club. Monaco had made specific financial promises to the DNCG, French football's financial watchdog, regarding player sales to balance their accounts. The failure to offload the 25-year-old American striker during the summer has left the club in a precarious position, forcing their hand ahead of the winter market.

Speaking to RMC Sport on the popular show Rothen S’enflamme, Scuro laid out the club's strategy for the mid-season window with refreshing honesty. "The original plan is to find a solution for Balogun. If we find that, it will give Monaco the opportunity to keep Lamine [Camara] and [Aleksandr] Golovin until the end of the season. That is the ideal plan, but we can’t control the decisions and what will happen in the winter," he explained.

Balogun’s current situation is a direct result of a dramatic and ultimately unsuccessful transfer deadline day in August. The striker was remarkably close to returning to England, having travelled to Liverpool to undergo a medical with Everton. However, the deal collapsed during the final hours of the window, creating a domino effect that disrupted Monaco's entire transfer strategy. According to Scuro, the United States international felt "uncomfortable" proceeding with the move after the medical staff at Everton raised concerns regarding his fitness levels.

"We had an agreement with Balogun. What happened with him changes our plans for this winter a bit. But that was the original plan: to find a solution for Balogun. After that, we don't have control over all the decisions (to come) this winter," Scuro revealed.

Beyond the financial implications, the presence of Balogun has created a significant sporting headache for the coaching staff. The club's failure to sell the striker meant they were unable to reinvest in other areas of the pitch, leading to what Filipe Luís has described as a clear tactical deficit. The manager has pointed to an imbalance in the squad, noting that the team is overloaded with central strikers while lacking natural width.

Scuro has not hidden his disappointment regarding how the summer window was managed, admitting that the club could not execute their vision. "I am not happy with everything that we did during the summer and it wasn’t possible to execute our plan 100%. To be honest, no, I am not satisfied with our summer transfer window. If we had different timings to offload players, maybe we would have had a bit more time to sign others," the CEO admitted.

With the January window fast approaching, Monaco are now focused on making the "corrections" Scuro mentioned to fix the errors of the summer. The priority remains finding a permanent home for Balogun, who has struggled to replicate the prolific form he showed during his loan spell at Reims since joining Monaco from Arsenal. A move in the winter would represent a fresh start for the player, who needs regular football to maintain his standing in the USMNT setup, and would allow Monaco to finally pursue the right-winger and defensive midfielder they so clearly lack.

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