Folarin Balogun set to be picked for England’s Under-21 Euros squad

Folarin Balogun will be selected for the Under-21 European Championship despite the threat of the striker switching allegiances from England to the United States.

The Arsenal academy product is reported to have travelled to Orlando, where the USA are training before facing Grenada and El Salvador.

Balogun, who has played through the England age groups and has seven Under-21 goals in 13 appearances, is debating his international future and is also eligible for Nigeria.

Balogun has pulled out of two crucial friendlies ahead of the summer Euros through injury, while boss Lee Carsley insisted that he will continue to pick him amid uncertainty.

‘Yes, I would,’ Carsley said. ‘I can only go off the relationship that we’ve got and the conversation that we’ve had.

The 21-year-old star has scored 17 Ligue 1 goals in 27 appearances for William Still’s Reims

Boss Lee Carsley insists he will select him despite uncertainty over his international future

‘He’s never given me any inkling that he’s looking elsewhere. Whether that will change when he is too old for the Under 21s, that may be different.

‘He said he is looking forward to the summer and all the rest of it so will obviously follow that up after camp.

‘Flo obviously completed 90 minutes on Sunday, felt an injury that he’s had previously. Their doctor has confirmed that with our doctor. So you can only take what they’re saying to be accurate.’

On loan at Reims, Balogun has 17 goals in Ligue 1 – scoring during a weekend defeat by Marseille – and attracting interest ahead of next season.

England have recently lost the likes of Tariq Lamptey to Ghana and Carsley maintained that the FA cannot ‘twist someone’s arm’ to pledge their future to the country.

‘I’ll make a point of going over and meeting Flo,’ Carsley added. ‘With going back to Tariq, the conversations I had were always around ‘you’re highly rated, you’ve got a…