Aleksandar Mitrovic completed his transfer to Al-Hilal on Saturday evening, potentially paving the way for Arsenal to sell Folarin Balogun to Premier League rivals Fulham.
The Saudi Pro League club has paid the Cottagers a transfer fee of £50 million for the Serbian striker, who had been pushing for an exit for over a month.
Al-Hilal announced Mitrovic’s arrival just hours after Neymar was introduced to the club’s fans ahead of their match against Al Feiha, which ended 1-1.
Fulham have been planning for life without Mitrovic, with the south west London outfit linked with a big money move for Balogun earlier this week.
It’s a transfer that would make perfect sense for Fulham. Having received as high a fee as they could have possibly hoped for from the Mitrovic deal, they can now replace the veteran striker with a highly rated youngster who has a track record of scoring goals.
The 22-year-old scored an impressive 22 goals in 39 appearances while on loan with Reims last season. Putting up big numbers in Ligue 1 doesn’t always translate to the Premier League, but he is an exciting prospect who has a big future ahead of him.
Nabbing the US international would be a coup for Fulham, who were toothless in a 3-0 defeat to Brentford on the same day Mitrovic signed his three-year contract in Saudi Arabia. Inter Milan and Monaco are keen to sign Balogun, as are West Ham United, who have £100m burning a hole in their pocket following Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal.
Sporting director Tony Khan likes to hold off as long as possible with new signings in order to get the best possible deal for his club. It’s worked a treat in the past, in particular Fulham’s most recent dealing with Arsenal when they signed Bernd Leno, but Khan and his recruitment staff need to pull the trigger soon.
Arsenal want £50m for Balogun, the exact amount Fulham will receive for selling Mitrovic. It’s quite rare that circumstances align so perfectly for a transfer. Now they just need to make it happen.
