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Middlesbrough still went ahead and signed a loan deal for Arsenal striker Flo Balogun, despite the fact that he had since contracted Covid.
The Championship had finalised the terms of the proposed deal which sees the highly rated forward join the Championship club on loan for the rest of the season last week, but then the move was delayed after he tested positive ahead of the Gunners match in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a game in which he was likely to have played some part.
The Teesside club have agreed to cover his wages in full during the time in the North-East and will also pay a fee to his agent.
It is intended that Balogun, who has excelled in under-23 football, but has struggled for first-team football, will get the chance to play regularly and will return to the Emirates in the summer ready to challenge for a place in Mikel Arteta’s squad for next season.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.