Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun looks set to ditch both Nigeria and England in favour of the US

FEARS are growing that Arsenal's Nigeria-eligible striker Folarin Balogun might be set to commit his senior international future to the US after he spent the recent break with the  American team at their Orlando camp.

Balogun, 21, was born in New York and has represented the US at U18 level but he currently plays for England's U21s. In a rich vein of form at the moment, the striker has been loaned out to French side Reim for the season and he has been red hot there of late, scoring 17 goals so far in this campaign.

With several English Premier League sides looking to sign him during the summer transfer window, it appears that Balogun is looking to play for the US national team because he is guaranteed playing time there. Balogun left the England U21s because of injury last week and to the surprise of everyone, he then posted a picture on Instagram taken in Orlando, Florida where the US men's national team is spending its international break.

There is no confirmation that the picture is from this week but the timing ignited a frenzy among Stars and Stripes fans. Balogun is eligible to play for England, Nigeria and the US and a few months ago, the thought of him featuring for the Yanks would have been considered far-fetched.

England manager Gareth Southgate, has told the striker to carefully think about changing his international allegiance from England to the US. He added that amid all this aggressive recruitment from other nations Balogun may live to regret ditching England for the US.

Mr Southgate said: "I haven't spoken to Balogun yet because to this point, he has been with the U21s and very happy. Clearly other nations have been quite aggressive in their recruitment and what they are offering.

"That, in my experience of history, has sometimes been really successful for the players and sometimes hasn’t worked out. I’ve seen countries cap players at 16 or 17 and they’ve disappeared. In the end, as a player, I think you back yourself but you have got to ultimately make the decision."

US and Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner confirmed that he has worked on getting Balogun to play for his nation of birth. Anthony Hudson, the US interim manager, has also been working on the striker, pointing out that Balogun is eager to make the step up to senior international football and the US are willing to facilitate that.

Mr Hudson said: "We’ve had dialogue, we’ve spoken and he’s out here having a bit of a break and some training. Now it’s about him just enjoying the rest of his trip.

I think it’s been good because it’s been an opportunity for us just to share about our programme and who we are and what we do. I hope we get the chance to speak to him again. It's been good for me and then I know a few of the guys have spoken to him, as well."

Meanwhile, West Ham have become the latest Premier League side to gun for Balogun during the summer transfer window. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is expected to have crunch talks with him soon after which a decision will be taken on the strikers' future.