An instinctive finisher likened to Aubameyang - The lowdown on Sheffield United target Folarin Balogun, of Arsenal

Obviously social media videos are not always a reliable representation of a player's ability, but there is clearly a lot of excitement around Balogun - and just watching the clips for a few seconds reveals exactly why.

Sheffield United are the latest club to show an interest in the 19-year-old, who can leave The Emirates for free next summer and can sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club as soon as January.

Southampton and Brentford, who aren't in the habit of signing bad footballers, have also made approaches in the past, while Blades boss Chris Wilder admitted today that he has made an enquiry.

But who is Balogun, what's he all about and will he ever become a Blade? Let's take a look...

The basics

Born in New York in 2001 - which sure makes me feel old - Balogun's family moved to England when he was two. They settled in London and after a trial at Spurs, he joined Arsenal at 10 years old.

He netted 28 times in as many games as Arsenal won the U18 title, and scored almost a goal every game for the U23s after graduating to that age group.

Brentford had a £5m offer rejected in January of this year, while Southampton were also linked with an approach. He has played for both England and the USA at youth level, and can also represent Nigeria as both his parents were born there.

What's he like?

A PlanetFootball profile on Balogun describes him as "an instinctive striker and clinical finisher with either foot, consistently finding the bottom corners with power and precision. He has also displayed quick feet, blistering pace and excellent movement to run in behind defences."

He has been likened to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is a fan of the youngster, but is behind the likes of Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, fellow academy product Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli in the pecking order. With Willian, Nicolas Pepe and Reiss Nelson also in Mikel Arteta's strikeforce, Balogun is thought to be resigned to leaving the Emirates to play first-team football.

What he said

"I am the sort of striker that likes to play on the shoulder of the last defender and make runs behind them, similar to the way that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang plays," Balogun told Arsenal's website last year. "I’ve trained a few times with the first team and I feel that I’ve benefitted from being involved with them, especially when playing against experienced defenders which forces you to find different ways of getting in on goal as what works at lower levels does not always work against them."

Will he arrive?

That's the million-dollar question - or even more, if reports suggesting that Arsenal want £15m for the striker are to believed. That seems a little ambitious, considering he can walk away for free next summer, but United may have to up their reported initial offer of £3m if Balogun is to become a Blade. "Yeah, we made an enquiry," Wilder admitted today, "and that's been left with the CEO at our club and at Arsenal.”

Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of Blades coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details HERE. Your support is much appreciated. Chris Holt, Football Editor