Opinion: Fulham ought to avoid taking Arsenal transfer risk this summer as promotion beckons

After being relegated from the Premier League last year, Fulham have managed to produce a plethora of superb performances in the Championship this season.

As a result of their ability to sweep teams aside at this level, the Cottagers are now within touching distance of achieving promotion.

A win over Preston North End this evening will see Fulham secure an immediate return to the top-flight.

Whereas head coach Marco Silva’s primary focus will be on guiding his side to the league title in the closing stages of the campaign, it is hardly a surprise that the club have already been linked with a number of players ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

One of the individuals who is believed to be on Fulham’s radar is Folarin Balogun.

According to a report from Daily Mail Plus, the Cottagers are interested in signing the forward on a loan deal from Arsenal this summer.

Although Fulham will unquestionably need to bolster their squad in order to boost their chances of retaining a spot in the Premier League, they ought to avoid taking a risk on Balogun.

Prolific at youth level, the forward netted 13 goals in 11 appearances in the Premier League 2 Division 1 for Arsenal’s Under-23 side earlier this season.

However, despite showing glimpses of promise, Balogun has yet to replicate this firepower for Middlesbrough’s senior side since joining the club on loan earlier this year.

In the 16 league appearances that he has made in the second-tier for Boro, the 20-year-old has only managed to find the back of the net on three occasions and is currently averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.60 in this division.

When you consider that Aleksandar Mitrovic has managed to find the back of the net on 38 occasions at this level during the