Let’s compare Tottenham’s latest striker target, Folarin Balogun, with Spurs forwards Dominic Solanke and Richarlison to see how the three stack up.
In the last few hours, Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun.
It is explained that AS Monaco have offered the 25-year-old to Spurs, while some other news outlets have claimed that Tottenham are accelerating their pursuit of the striker.
Spurs fans, however, are not convinced the forward is exactly what they need, with many of their reactions split following the latest links.
Some supporters believe that Balogun would allow for tactical flexibility, while others believe there are better options in the market for Tottenham.
We have now decided to stack his numbers up against the strikers at Tottenham, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, to see how they compare.
Comparing Folarin Balogun, Solanke and Richarlison as Tottenham options
Looking at the three players, Balogun is the youngest of them, with the USA international aged 25, while Richarlison comes in at 29 and Solanke at 28.
That naturally means that the forwards at Tottenham have played more games than the AS Monaco man in their respective careers.
The stats do back this up, with Solanke having played 388 games, Richarlison 417, while Balogun comes in at 268 games. These appearances include youth outings.
Interestingly, though, more games have not translated into more goals for each of these forwards.
In fact, the difference in the number of goals scored by the respective strikers is very close despite the gap in games played.
Solanke does come out top for the most goals scored so far when comparing the careers of the three players.
The 28-year-old has managed 147 goals and 43 assists, while Balogun comes in second place, scoring 136 goals and managing 39 assists, and then finally in last place is Richarlison, who has managed 118 goals and 44 assists.
Of course, the difference in output is not something that can be easily ignored, given how many more games the strikers at Tottenham have played.
However, it is worth noting that most of Balogun’s numbers come from his youth games, and when we take those outputs away his numbers look different.
The former Arsenal man simply falls behind, having scored just 64 goals in 171 senior appearances, while Solanke has 119 and Richarlison 118.
| Metric | Folarin Balogun | Dominic Solanke | Richarlison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appearances – all | 268 | 388 | 417 |
| Goals – all | 136 | 147 | 118 |
| Assists – all | 39 | 43 | 44 |
| Goal involvements – all | 175 | 190 | 162 |
| GI per game – all | 0.65 | 0.49 | 0.39 |
| Appearances – senior | 171 | 347 | 417 |
| Goals – senior | 64 | 119 | 118 |
| Assists – senior | 24 | 43 | 44 |
| Goal involvements – senior | 88 | 162 | 162 |
| GI per game – senior | 0.51 | 0.47 | 0.39 |
Balogun’s versatility and standout seasons assessed
However, with Balogun it is worth noting that Spurs are not just getting an out-and-out forward who is purely a number nine.
The USA international is versatile enough to fill in on the wing, in the same way Richarlison does.
But Balogun has not played that many games out wide in his career, with the forward making just 16 appearances as a left winger and three on the right.
His output on the wings is also respectable, with Balogun managing 13 goals and four assists from 19 appearances out wide.
Looking at individual seasons, Balogun does come out on top, with the USA international having had a single season where he managed 21 goals in the league.
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39 | 22 | 3 |
| 2023/24 | 32 | 8 | 7 |
| 2024/25 | 16 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025/26 | 43 | 19 | 5 |
| Total | 130 | 53 | 16 |
Solanke’s best comes in at 19 goals, while Richarlison has not surpassed 15 goals in a Premier League season.
Balogun does stand out as a player capable of impressing, but the big question will be whether he can do it in the Premier League after having spent most of his time in Ligue 1.