Folarin Balogun has reportedly trained away from the rest of his Arsenal teammates as rumours of an imminent exit have intensified.
The Arsenal side are currently in the United States on a pre-season tour, and face Barcelona in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Balogun has featured sporadically during pre-season, coming on as a second-half substitute in friendlies against both Nuremberg and the MLS All-Stars.
However, the USA international was unused in their defeat to Manchester United in New Jersey at the weekend.
Now, The Mirror claims that Balogun is training by himself ahead of that upcoming clash with Barca, as talk of an exit becomes more prominent.
There is increased competition at the Emirates Stadium for a starting spot in attack, with Kai Havertz arriving to provide strength-in-depth alongside Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah up front.
Leandro Trossard was signed in January to join Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka as wide options, with Reiss Nelson also recently signing a new contract too.
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Arsenal are said to value the 22-year-old at £50m, and Inter Milan have emerged as one of the clubs showing interest in the striker.
Gazzetta dello Sport claims that, following the conclusion of unsuccessful negotiations to sign Romelu Lukaku, Balogun is now one player that they are turning to.
A deal for Alvaro Morata has also been touted, but the Nerazzurri have stalled the deal for now as they prioritise interest in Balogun.
The Arsenal man is seen as a more desirable option given his lower wages and potential to grow and improve at such a tender age, whereas Morata is at the other end of his career on the wrong side of 30.
Lukaku's return to Chelsea and Edin Dzeko's departure to Fenerbahce means that Simone Inzaghi is looking for a new man up top to partner Lautaro Martinez in their 3-5-2 system which helped them reach the Champions League final last season.
Balogun enjoyed a breakout season during 2022-23 out on loan at Reims in Ligue 1, scoring 21 in 37 league games.
Switching allegiance to the United States also brought about international honours too, as a goal in the final helped the USMNT to Nations League glory earlier this summer.
Andrew Delaney
