Monaco reveals why Balogun pulled out of Everton move: medical examination triggered chain that brought down two transfers
Folarin Balogun's transfer from Monaco to Everton, worth around £40 million, was one step away from completion on the final day of the transfer window, but ended without the American striker's signature. The day after the market closed, Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro gave a detailed version of events according to which the key problem became the doubts raised by Everton's medical team during the player's examination in England. Monaco claims that those doubts did not correspond with the assessments of its medical staff or Balogun's private doctor and that the way the entire situation developed influenced the player's decision not to accept a long-term contract. Everton, on the other hand, according to information from Sky Sports, believes it acted in accordance with the usual risk assessment after the examination showed signs of an injury and was nevertheless prepared to complete the deal. The result was one of the most unusual endings to the 2026 summer transfer window: Balogun remained at Monaco, Everton were left without the planned attacking reinforcement, and the parallel transfer of Lamine Camara to Chelsea also collapsed.
From an agreed deal to the first doubts in Liverpool
According to Scuro's account to the French media on September 2, Monaco and Everton had previously reached a clear agreement over Balogun's transfer, after which the 25-year-old striker travelled to England on the morning of September 1 to undergo a medical examination and complete the formalities. British and French sources placed the value of the deal at around £40 million, while L'Équipe, during the final day of the market, reported a structure of approximately €45 million plus another €5 million in possible bonuses. The differences in the published figures stem from currencies and the way individual sources calculated the guaranteed portion, bonuses and total value of the package. What is not disputed is that by the middle of the day the transfer looked realistic and very close to completion. Scuro said that Balogun was undergoing his examination in Liverpool at around 4 p.m. and that, until then, from Monaco's perspective, the plan was proceeding as expected.
According to Scuro's chronology, the situation changed at around 7 p.m., when Everton contacted Monaco with questions related to the examination results. The French club's CEO claims that their medical team and the doctor who personally monitors Balogun saw no basis for concluding that there was a problem that would call the player's future availability into question. L'Équipe had previously reported that Balogun had been feeling pain in his knee in recent days and that Everton were not satisfied with part of the findings, while Monaco believed his condition should not prevent the transfer. The exact contents of the medical documentation have not been made public, so it cannot be independently established what the examination specifically showed or how great the assessed risk was. It is therefore important to distinguish the confirmed fact that medical doubts arose from the claim that the player had a health problem that would necessarily keep him off the pitch.
Scuro stated that the doctors of the two clubs then exchanged information for two to three hours and that Everton requested additional opinions. Such a procedure is not in itself unusual when a club investing a large sum assesses that a particular finding requires further clarification. According to Sky Sports, after the examination Everton tried to reduce the amount that would be paid unconditionally to Monaco and tie a larger part of the fee to Balogun's availability and performance. The same source states that the personal terms offered to the player were not changed. This created an important difference in interpretation: Monaco considered the medical concerns unfounded, while Everton was evidently trying to contractually limit its own financial risk.
Everton nevertheless decided to proceed, but Balogun no longer wanted to sign
According to Scuro's testimony, at around 10 p.m. Everton informed Monaco that it was ready to proceed with the transfer. The clubs then used the procedure for deals agreed immediately before the market closed. Official Premier League information confirms that the so-called deal sheet allows clubs to report before the deadline that an agreement has been reached and then receive additional time to submit the remaining documentation. For domestic procedures, the Premier League specifies a two-hour period, but for international transfers the deadline of FIFA's Transfer Matching System still applies, meaning that the time practically available in a case like this may have been shorter. The Premier League's 2026 summer transfer window officially closed on September 1 at 11 p.m. British time.
Scuro claims that representatives of Monaco and Everton signed the agreement in the final stage, but that Balogun decided in the last few minutes not to add his signature. According to his retelling of the conversation with the player, Balogun was unhappy with the way Everton's medical department had raised questions about his health and long-term physical fitness. According to that version, the striker did not want to enter into a multi-year relationship with a club where, even before signing, he had sensed distrust regarding his own health condition. Scuro said Monaco did not consider it appropriate to pressure the player into accepting the deal after he had clearly expressed discomfort. The transfer therefore collapsed even though the clubs, according to Monaco, eventually once again found a common administrative and financial framework.
Everton did not publicly release a detailed medical report, and neither the club nor the player had, by September 3, presented a public version of events as extensive as Scuro's. Sky Sports, citing sources close to the English club, states that Everton are surprised by the claim that Balogun felt unwanted, because his personal terms had not been worsened and the club continued trying to complete the transfer. According to the same report, Everton believed that changing the structure of the fee to Monaco was justified because of the medical risk. This difference in perspective is now at the centre of the entire case: Monaco speaks of doubts that had no medical justification and undermined the player's sense of security, while from Everton's side the process is described as caution before taking on a multi-year financial commitment.
Zirkzee further complicated Balogun's perception of Everton
At the moment when Balogun's deal became uncertain, Everton were simultaneously considering other attacking options. Sky Sports states that the club tried to arrange a loan for Joshua Zirkzee from Manchester United and that the offer was rejected. According to that report, Balogun learned of the move while his own transfer was being renegotiated and got the impression that Everton were looking for a replacement behind his back. From Everton's perspective, Sky Sports claims, the interest in Zirkzee was a separate deal and the club was prepared to bring in both strikers rather than one instead of the other. Since neither Balogun nor Everton have publicly reconstructed their direct conversations in detail, that part of the story remains based on media reports and Scuro's explanation of the player's dissatisfaction.
For Everton, the failure had immediate sporting significance. Sky Sports states that the club had already sold Beto to Fiorentina and that, after Balogun's transfer collapsed, Thierno Barry remained in the squad as the only clearly defined senior centre-forward. That is precisely why the English club continued negotiations with Monaco even after the initial medical doubts instead of abandoning the deal entirely. A medical examination in major transfers is not merely a formality: clubs use it to assess whether a player can withstand the demands of a contract that may last four or five years and be worth tens of millions. The problem arises when the buyer's and seller's assessments differ so greatly that they affect not only the price, but also the player's own trust.
The collapse of Balogun's transfer also brought down Camara's move to Chelsea
The biggest consequence was not confined only to the Monaco - Everton relationship. While doctors and executives were discussing Balogun, Chelsea continued trying to sign Senegalese midfielder Lamine Camara from Monaco. Scuro said that the London club had been discussing Camara with Monaco for around ten days, but that the French club had continued to respond, until the problems with Balogun emerged, that it did not want to sell the midfielder. When it became unclear at around 7 p.m. whether Everton would complete the purchase, Monaco opened the door to talks with Chelsea. L'Équipe reported that an agreement worth around €55 million was subsequently reached.
That change was not only sporting, but also financial. Scuro explained that Monaco planned to make one major sale in order to reduce its wage bill and align its business plan, and its priority was to keep Camara if Balogun went to Everton. An official French LFP decision dated June 23 confirms that the DNCG, the body that oversees the finances of professional clubs in France, imposed supervision or a restriction on Monaco's wage bill for the 2026/27 season. A few days before the end of the transfer window, Scuro also said on Monaco's official website that the club had to fulfil its obligation to the DNCG and reduce wage costs. After the market closed, he said the target had been a cut of approximately 20 percent compared with the previous season.
When Everton later in the evening again gave the green light for Balogun, Monaco concluded that it no longer needed to sell Camara and withdrew from talks with Chelsea. Scuro said the London club was immediately informed that the deal would not continue. L'Équipe and Sky Sports reported that Chelsea were very unhappy with the reversal, particularly because the deal had progressed so far. Monaco defended the decision by explaining that it did not want to lose two important players within a few hours when its financial plan required one major sale. The irony of the final twist was complete: after Monaco abandoned Camara's sale because it was once again counting on Balogun's departure, Balogun ultimately rejected Everton himself.
Monaco now keep both players, but also the financial problem they wanted to solve
For Monaco, the end of the transfer window was therefore awkward in two ways. The club kept two quality players, which may be a sporting advantage, but did not complete the sale that it had included in its own financial plan. Scuro said the management would speak with the DNCG again and seek other solutions to fulfil the imposed obligations. He also stated on September 2 that some markets remained open and that departures of certain players could be considered, but he did not confirm a new agreement for Balogun. According to the information available up to September 3, the United States international remains a Monaco player.
Balogun's status is not marginal for the French club either. Monaco signed him from Arsenal in August 2023 and tied him to a contract until June 2028. Official club data states that, by the start of the 2026/27 season, he had made 91 appearances and scored 31 goals for Monaco. He was particularly impressive in the 2025/26 season, when, according to Monaco, he scored 13 league goals, five in the Champions League and 19 in all competitions. Such output explains why the 25-year-old player could attract a Premier League offer in the region of £40 million despite questions arising during the medical examination that complicated the completion of the deal.
For the player himself, the situation raises a different question. The decision to reject a transfer after already travelling for a medical examination shows that the final say does not belong only to the clubs, even when they have agreed on the fee and documents. The player must accept personal terms and sign the contract, while the medical process can also influence his assessment of the future relationship with a new employer. In this case, the decisive issue was not only whether the knee represented a genuine medical risk, but also how Balogun, according to Scuro's explanation, experienced the process. Without a publicly available report, it is not justified to claim that Everton's assessment was wrong or that Monaco concealed a problem; what is confirmed is only that the medical teams viewed the situation differently and that, after several hours of negotiations, the player decided to pull out.
Why the case matters more than another failed transfer
The Balogun case shows how sensitive the final hours of the transfer window are when several major deals depend on one another. Everton needed a striker, Monaco needed a major sale for its financial plan, Chelsea were looking for a midfielder after Enzo Fernández's departure to Manchester City, and Camara became more available only when Balogun's deal first ran into problems. One medical doubt therefore changed the negotiating position of three clubs, triggered a new transfer, stopped it, revived the first deal and ultimately left all sides without the expected outcome. Situations like these also explain why clubs use a deal sheet at the end of the market: there is a formal deadline, but complex international deals involve contracts, medical assessments, registration, international approval and simultaneous negotiations with multiple parties.
The Premier League closed the market for summer 2026 on September 1 at 11 p.m. British time, while the official rules provide additional time to complete already agreed deals under precisely defined conditions. That procedure can save a transfer that is missing administrative documentation, but it cannot replace the player's signature. That was precisely the final obstacle in Balogun's case. According to Scuro's version, by the time the clubs had resolved the financial and medical disagreements sufficiently to proceed with the deal, the player had already lost confidence in the entire process.
As of September 3, there is no official indication that talks between Everton and Balogun will reopen. Monaco must now deal with its relationship with the striker, who returned after an almost completed transfer, as well as with Camara, who was close to leaving for Chelsea on the same day. Scuro said the club intends to speak with both of them and continue professionally, stressing that new opportunities may come for Camara. For Everton, the question of attacking depth remains after the missed arrival, while Monaco's priority is to find a way to meet the financial obligations it had planned to ease with one major sale. Thus, the medical examination that was supposed to be one of the final formalities became the beginning of a chain of events that changed the plans of three European clubs within a few hours.
Sources:
- L'Équipe – detailed chronology from Thiago Scuro on the failed transfers of Folarin Balogun and Lamine Camara (link)
- L'Équipe – report on the medical doubts, Balogun's knee and the previously agreed transfer structure (link)
- Sky Sports – reconstruction of Everton's perspective, the change in the fee structure, interest in Zirkzee and the consequences for Chelsea (link)
- Ligue de Football Professionnel – DNCG decision of June 23, 2026 on the restriction of AS Monaco's wage bill (link)
- Premier League – official explanation of the deal sheet, additional time and the transfer registration procedure (link)
- Premier League – official dates of the 2026 summer transfer window (link)
- AS Monaco – official information on Balogun's contract, career and arrival from Arsenal (link)
- AS Monaco – official information on Balogun's performance in the 2025/26 season (link)