Folarin Balogun opted against joining Everton this summer when his transfer appeared all but complete, but the U.S. men’s national team striker revealed that returning to the Premier League in the future is still “definitely an option” for him.

Over the weekend, the Arsenal academy graduate attended the first NFL London game 2026 and was asked if the Premier League was something that still interested him. Balogun’s answer was telling.

“Yes, potentially,” the player confessed to talkSPORT.

“Football has many twists and turns as we’ve seen after the World Cup. I was close to a transfer, it didn’t materialize, but for sure it’s definitely an option.”

The summer started with Balogun bagging three goals for the USMNT during the 2026 World Cup before he found himself in the eye of the storm for FIFA’s now infamous red-card U-turn following intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend his ban after getting sent off in the round of 32. It is a topic that still won’t go away.

The summer ended with Balogun headlining the wildest Deadline Day saga of the summer transfer window, as his essentially finalized move from Monaco to Everton collapsed not once but twice in a matter of hours. He remains a Monaco player but has only played 14 minutes this season was left off of Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT roster for the September-October international window.

Folarin Balogun Must Return to Form at Monaco Quickly

Ultimately, it was the 25-year-old who pulled the plug on the Everton transfer after the Merseyside club raised concerns over his medical, leading to Balogun not feeling “comfortable to sign a long contract here,” per Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro.

To make matters worse, the striker was left out of Monaco’s UEFA Conference League squad due to the uncertainty that surrounded his future at the time the club had to submit the list.

Still, Balogun is expected to return to Monaco’s plans and could be registered once the knockout rounds of the third-tier European competition arrive. For now, though, the USMNT striker must rediscover the form that saw him bag 19 club goals for just a season ago.

Monaco currently sit atop the Ligue 1 standings through five games, and 20-year-old Germany international Paris Brunner has six goals across all competitions already, making his case to take over as the team’s starting center forward.

Balogun Now Faces Increased USMNT Striker Competition

It’s not only at the club level that Balogun must be prepared to compete for his place in the lineup, though.

Balogun wasn’t included in Pochettino’s USMNT fall roster because he hadn’t played a single game since the 2026 World Cup when the Argentine boss unveiled his squad. Instead, Pochettino granted maiden opportunities to young strikers to impress, and they’ve done exactly that.

Julian Hall, 18, became the youngest player since Pelé to score in his first three international appearances. The Red Bull New York teenager has deservedly stolen headlines over the past two weeks, but he’s not the only young frontman that’s impressed.

Justin Ellis has formed a strong partnership at Orlando City with Antoine Griezmann and then opened his USMNT account just four minutes into his senior international debut. The explosion of young, exciting attackers has been the story of the USMNT’s international window, with multiple debutants instanty delivering for the Stars and Stripes.

It’s imperative that Balogun returns to form for Monaco on the other side of the international break, or else failing to secure a Premier League return in the near-future could be the least of his worries.