Folarin Balogun is on the move. After three seasons with Ligue 1 side Monaco, the star United States men’s national team forward is reportedly heading to Everton as part of a massive transfer, per soccer insider Fabrizio Romano.
Multiple reports indicated Monday that Monaco and Everton had agreed to a deal around €45 million ($52.3 million USD), plus around €5 million ($5.8 million) in potential add-ons.
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Per Romano, Balogun has agreed to a four-year deal with a one-year option. He is cleared to travel and will undergo a physical before the deal is complete.
The move comes just before the Premier League’s summer transfer window closes on Tuesday, with Everton hoping to start the season with an enhanced attack. In a seemingly related move, Everton also agreed to bring back Manchester City’s Jack Grealish for another season on loan, per multiple reports.
Balogun was excellent for Monaco last year, scoring 13 goals and adding four assists across the season. The striker notched nine goals in Monaco’s final 12 games of the regular season, though the French heavyweight finished the year in seventh. Balogun ended the year fourth in Ligue 1’s individual scoring table.
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Balogun’s club showing was buoyed by a breakout showing in the USMNT’s World Cup run this summer. Though marred by the red card controversy surrounding his final appearance in the knockout stage, Balogun finished the tournament with three goals on the way to the U.S.’s largest World Cup win and its first knockout stage win in more than two decades.
The move will mark a return to England for Balogun, who was raised in London, grew up in Arsenal’s academy and started his career with the Gunners before heading to France in 2023. (The 25-year-old forward’s U.S. eligibility stems from his birth in New York City after his mother was barred from returning to England due to being too far along in her pregnancy.)
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Balogun becomes the latest USMNT player to earn a splashy transfer after breaking out at the 2026 World Cup. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who played in all five World Cup matches after becoming an unlikely mainstay of the U.S. team, was transferred from the Vancouver Whitecaps to Championship League side Middlesbrough in July. Defender Max Arfsten joined him a week later.
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