- Balogun completes move to Monaco
- Berhalter calls transfer "fabulous"
- Striker set to join camp under Berhalter for first time
WHAT HAPPENED? Balogun completed his €40 million ($43m/£34m) move to Monaco on Wednesday as he took a step up the Ligue 1 ladder after dominating on loan at Reims last season. His 21 goals in Ligue 1 for Reims helped propel him to the USMNT, who won a recruiting battle against England to secure the striker's services.
Balogun had been linked with clubs all over Europe, but has ultimately opted to return to the French league, with Berhalter backing the striker to develop with his new club.
WHAT THEY SAID: "What I'd say is that it's he's familiar with the French league. He's already performed at a really high level in the French league and now he's going into a bigger club in the French league, and I think it's a really strong move," Berhalter said. "You see that, from the reports about the transfer figure, you see they're paying a lot of money for him and Monaco is a club that is really thoughtful with who they bring in, so I think it's a fabulous move for him.
"We expect him to be able to score goals, continue to score goals, like he's done. Having met him and spoke to him, he's a really humble guy. He's a guy who's focused on the process and continuing to improve and he sees this as the next step for him on his way as he climbs the ladder in European soccer, so we're excited about that move for him."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Balogun is soon set to join camp for the first time under Berhalter, who was re-hired as USMNT coach this summer. Berhalter didn't have the luxury of a goalscoring striker last summer, which makes Balogun one of the most intriguing USMNT pieces as the road to 2026 begins.
"I think with the national team, if you've seen how the ideas of the game model have evolved, to me, it's always about fitting to the players because you have a limited player pool," Berhalter said. "So with Flo, it's our obligation to work around what he can bring us because we know he's got a tremendous amount of talent.
"I've already talked to him about what he thinks his best skill sets are and how to get him involved and active. He's a very dynamic player running behind the line, good in the penalty box, so these are all things that we know are going to help our group be successful. We're very much open to working around the players and taking their strengths and integrating that into what we do."
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR USMNT? Balogun, Berhalter and the USMNT are set to face Uzbekistan on September 9 before taking on Oman three days later.