ONE TOUCH SUMMARY
- Balogun has been left out of Monaco's Conference League squad list published by UEFA.
- Balogun will also miss Monaco's Ligue 1 trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Friday.
- Monaco need to sell to comply with French league financial rules, with Saudi window open.
ONE TOUCH INSIGHT
Monaco didn't leave Balogun out of a squad list, they left him out of the plan. Four games into the season he has played none of them, and now UEFA's published Conference League list omits him entirely — the same treatment as Friday's trip to PSG.
A club that needs to sell a striker doesn't risk him in Europe; a club that rates one does. That's the bind sporting director Thiago Scuro is defending. Everton's medical staff raised doubts about Balogun's health, he pulled out of a reported £40m move on deadline day, and Monaco — who need to generate money to satisfy French league financial rules — are holding a player neither fit enough to sell cleanly nor fancied enough to pick. Minamino's return from eight months out with a torn ACL absorbs the attacking minutes that might have been Balogun's, which says plenty about how the staff see the queue.
October 12 does the work here: the Saudi window shuts three days before Monaco open the league phase, and a sale there is the only exit still open.
WHY IT MATTERS
Beyond one squad list, this signals a standoff: Monaco need a sale for financial compliance, Balogun needs minutes, and a collapsed deadline-day move has left both sides waiting on leagues whose windows remain open.
Folarin Balogun
ST
USA
Strengths
- ✓Pace and sharp movement in behind to attack space in transition
- ✓Comfortable leading the line alone or drifting into wide channels
- ✓Pressing intensity that suits a high-tempo, front-foot system
- ✓Composed finishing when running onto through balls
- ⚠He has not featured in any of Monaco's four games this season, leaving his match sharpness unclear
- ⚠Everton raised doubts about his health in a medical, and that concern remains unresolved
TACTICAL FIT
Balogun is a transition striker who thrives running into space, so omitting him from the Conference League removes Monaco's rotation option up front while freezing a player who has not featured in four games.
THE DEBATE
Should Balogun have gambled on Everton despite the medical doubts?
play
Hislop has 'no sympathy' for Everton over Balogun transfer saga (1:46)
- Associated Press
Multiple Authors
Sep 4, 2026, 05:22 AM ET
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U.S. striker Folarin Balogun has been left out of Monaco's squad for the Conference League amid uncertainty over his future after the collapse of his proposed transfer to Everton this week.
Balogun also will miss Monaco's match at Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on Friday after being omitted from the group travelling up to the capital.
Monaco said Balogun was back in group training. He hasn't featured in any of the team's four games so far this season.
The USMNT striker was close to joining Everton for a reported £40 million ($54 million) on Tuesday -- the last day of the summer transfer window for most leagues in Europe -- but opted to pull out of a dealbecause he felt uncomfortable that the English club raised doubts about his health in a medical examination, Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro said.
Folarin Balogun won't play for Monaco in the Conference League.(Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images)
Monaco are under pressure to transfer Balogun, or another of their top players, because the club needs to generate money to comply with the French league's financial rules.
Scuro said it was still possible Monaco sell the contract of the New York-born striker to a league where the transfer window remains open.
One such option is the Saudi Pro League, where the window closes on Oct. 12.
- Balogun's failed Everton transfer sums up USMNT's underwhelming summer window -Premier League 2026 summer transfers: All confirmed ins, outs for every club -Iliman Ndiaye joins Man City from Everton for £65 million
Monaco begin the league phase of the Conference League on Oct. 15 and Balogun's name did not appear on the club's provided squad list published by UEFA late on Thursday.
Included on the list was Japan attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino, who is back after eight months out with a torn ACL in his left knee that forced him to miss the World Cup.
Minamino is also in Monaco's squad for the trip to PSG -- a game Balogun will miss.
AI-assisted · generated from ESPN FC reporting, not editor reviewed
