How two American strikers could light up Serie A next season
Christian Pulisic may not be the only prolific American striker moving to Milan this summer.
The Athletic has reported that Folarin Balogun — the hyped forward who recently chose to represent the United States in international play — may be following in Pulisic's footsteps. While Pulisic chose to sign with AC Milan, Balogun could soon be heading to its crosstown competitor, Inter Milan.
AC Milan and Inter Milan are fierce rivals, but they share a unique history. The teams merged under the AC Milan name in 1899. But a disagreement over the signing of foreign players led half of the backroom staff to defect eight years later. This breakaway group, dedicated to celebrating and supporting foreign stars, called itself Internazionale — hence the "inter" of Inter Milan.
The teams share a stadium in Milan and face off twice a year in Serie A, the famous Italian league. Last season, they also met in the Champions League semifinal won by Inter.
Matches between Inter and AC Milan are called derbies della Madonnina, and they're always headline news in global soccer. With Pulisic already set to lead the red half of Milan in 2023-24, it'd be huge for the American game to see his compatriot, Balogun, carrying the torch for the blue half in turn.
Balogun is officially signed with England's Arsenal, but he spent last season on loan in France's Ligue 1 at Reims. He finished the season as the fourth-highest goal scorer in France, outscoring Neymar and Lionel Messi. With an expected price tag of $45 million, he's a relative bargain. By contrast, Danish striker Rasmus Højlund is expected to sell this summer for close to $78 million despite scoring less than half of Balogun's goal tally last season.
There's a feeling in Europe that Balogun's age (he's 22—not old, but certainly not a moldable teen anymore) and his position in the less-watched French league have led to that price discrepancy.
Still, that price difference is great news for Inter. The club views Balogun as the perfect replacement for the outgoing Romelu Lukaku. And with two stellar American players leading the charge in Milan next season, Balogun's move could be massive for expanding the Italian game's reach in the United States.
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