Fabrizio Romano revealed why Arsenal's asking price for Folarin Balogun is much lower than the fee Manchester United are paying to sign Rasmus Hojland.
Last week it emerged that United had reached an agreement with Atalanta to sign Hojlund for an initial £64million, with a further £8million due to be paid in add-ons.
The Denmark international has put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the option of an additional 12 months, with the Old Trafford club likely to officially announce the move later this week.
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Indeed, United are paying an enormous fee for a player with fewer than 90 first-team appearances to his name, especially when considering Arsenal have placed a €40million (£34million) price-tag on Balogun, despite the US international's hugely successful loan campaign with Reims last term.
Balogun netted 21 Ligue 1 goals that season, some 12 more than Hojlund’s Serie A tally last term.
Why is Balogun so much cheaper the Hojlund?
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Transfer guru Romano claimed Balogun is much cheaper that Hojlund primarily because the Arsenal attacker is "desperate" to leave the club.
When asked about the difference between the two price-tags Romano explained on Morning Footy: "Because the player (Balogun) wants to go and the player decides.
"In this case the player is really desperate to go. He's not going to sign a new contract at Arsenal and so the message is very clear.
"He understands that Arsenal decided to trust Eddie Nketiah and obviously Gabriel Jesus as important strikers for their project so he wants to try something different.
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"That's why I think Arsenal are not in a position to ask for €75 to €80million as Atalanta did for Rasmus Hojlund, who had a very long contract and was crucial player for Atalanta.
"So I think that's the difference, but I agree with you in terms of transfer value Balogun should be somewhere around at least €60million."
Topics: Football, Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United, Rasmus Hojlund, Arsenal
Chris Byfield