Arsenal made a number of sales this summer, and whilst they managed to insert a sell-on clause into their biggest one, there is no buyback option.
Folarin Balogun was sold to Monaco for a total package of around £34m, and Arsenal included a 17.5% sell-on clause as part of the deal.
However, it seems that his time at the club is over for good, as the club did not place a buyback clause into the deal, as has been seen elsewhere in Europe with young players leaving.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed in his Substack column that there is no other clause beyond the sell-on in the transfer deal.
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“Some Arsenal fans have been keen to know a bit more about the terms of Folarin Balogun’s sale to Monaco, but I don’t have any more information than what I’ve already reported,” he claimed.
“Monaco and Arsenal never mentioned a buy-back clause in the news I received in August, so at the moment what I know is that it’s permanent transfer and nothing else; there’s a sell-on clause for sure, that is 100% confirmed, but I don’t know if any other clauses were discussed by the clubs.”
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Should Arsenal have inserted a buyback clause?
It was widely mooted that Balogun would depart this summer given Arsenal’s current options upfront and his desire to play regularly, but given how good the 22-year-old was in his loan spell at Stade De Reims last season, there may be some surprise that the club did not place a buyback clause in his contract.
If he continues to develop at his current rate, he could develop into a top-class striker in the coming years. Whilst Arsenal are well stocked for now, they could have been safe in the knowledge that they had an option to bring Balogun back in the future should they be on the lookout for a forward.
Mikel Arteta described him as “special,” and it is clear that the club did rate him highly at one point.
This perhaps indicates that there was little desire from Balogun to come back, and no real interest from Arsenal in keeping this option open. Time will now tell if this was the correct decision or not.