Everton closes in on Folarin Balogun with £40 million offer

Forty million pounds. That's what Everton is reportedly willing to pay for a forward who, just weeks ago, was at the center of a controversy that reached all the way into politics. Folarin Balogun is close to leaving Monaco to don blue in the Premier League, according to British media reports on Monday.

The figure being floated in the English press is around £40 million (roughly $54 million) for a four-year contract. Personal terms with the player still need to be finalized, so the deal isn't fully done yet. And time is running out: the European transfer window closes this Tuesday, meaning Everton has to move fast if it wants to get this signing over the line before the deadline.

Balogun, 25, still had two years left on his contract with Monaco, the club he joined from Reims after coming up through Arsenal's academy and a spell at Middlesbrough. Born in New York but raised in England, the forward ended up representing the United States national team, and this summer he made his mark at the World Cup: he was the USA's top scorer with three goals, helping the team reach the knockout stage.

The play that put him in the spotlight

But it wasn't all about the soccer. Balogun was shown a red card in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 16, which brought a one-match suspension. That ban was deferred by FIFA after United States President Donald Trump got involved in the matter, which allowed him to play in the quarterfinals. Balogun ultimately took the field in that match, a 4-1 loss to Belgium that abruptly ended the host nation's run.

That intervention did not go unnoticed and led to a formal complaint to FIFA's ethics investigators, a chapter that is still making waves off the field.

On the purely footballing side, the forward is coming off a solid season in Ligue 1: 13 goals in 30 matches with Monaco. Numbers that explain why Everton is willing to put that kind of money on the table for a player who never fully broke out in England during his youth spells at Arsenal and Middlesbrough.

If the move goes through before the window closes, Everton would be adding a forward hungry to establish himself in the Premier League, the league where he came up but never quite locked down a spot as an undisputed starter. Now, with World Cup experience and recent goals in France, he arrives with a different reputation.