United States striker Folarin Balogun made his first appearance of the season for Monaco in their 2-1 win over Lens on Friday.
It was Balogun’s first outing since his proposed move to Premier League side Everton collapsed dramatically in the final hours of the transfer window earlier this month.
The 25-year-old came off the bench in the 76th minute as Monaco stayed unbeaten at the top of Ligue 1.
Just a few weeks ago, Balogun’s future looked to be elsewhere. Terms had been agreed between Monaco and Everton, and with the player himself, but concerns raised by Everton over his medical led Balogun to pull out of the deal.
Although Monaco later said it would continue to explore a possible move to a league where the window was still open, he now appears set to remain at the club at least until January when the window reopens across much of Europe.
Balogun, who had also been dealing with a minor injury, had not featured competitively since his controversial end to the 2026 World Cup.
The former Arsenal forward played in the USMNT’s round-of-16 defeat to Belgium after a one-game ban for a red card in the previous match was surprisingly overturned by FIFA, with US President Donald Trump admitting he made a personal appeal to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Balogun, who scored three goals at the World Cup, was not included in coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first USMNT squad since the tournament, named this week.
Monaco, meanwhile, have continued their strong start under new manager Filipe Luis.
Paris Brunner gave Monaco the lead in the 32nd minute on Friday before Matthieu Udol equalised in the 57th minute. Jonathan Gradit then scored an own goal in the 84th minute to seal the win for the hosts.
Brunner is still awaiting a likely sanction for a throat-slitting gesture during his goal celebration last weekend.
Lens dismissed coach Dino Toppmöller during the week after just six games in charge.
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