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Is Folarin Balogun good enough for Barcelona? | USMNT Weekly

Total Soccer Show: USMNT, Champions League, EPL, and more ...59m 1s

The Total Soccer Show discusses Younes Moussa's resurgence at AC Milan under Ruben Amorim, explores Folarin Balogun's potential moves to top European clubs including Barcelona, and highlights several American players making impacts in European competitions including Sam Adeniran's stellar performance for LASK against Celtic.

Summary

The episode opens with announcements about the show's Scotland trip (earthlydelights.club/tss) and bonus Patreon content. The hosts discuss the recent Celtic collapse in Champions League qualifying where they lost 5-4 on aggregate to LASK after being 4-0 up, with center backs CCV and Austin Trustee unable to prevent the capitulation.

The primary focus shifts to Younes Moussa, a USMNT midfielder who was excluded from the World Cup roster under Pochettino but is now thriving at AC Milan under Ruben Amorim. The hosts watched Moussa's full performance against Torino and praised his defensive recoveries, press resistance, and ability to turn and drive forward. They debate whether Pochettino's exclusion was due to system fit issues or Moussa's level at the time, concluding that regardless of previous doubts, Moussa should be in future national team rosters given his current form and the quality drop-off to other midfield options.

The conversation then pivots to Folarin Balogun and Barcelona's striker situation. With Barcelona desperately seeking a number nine after failing to sign Julián Alvarez, reports emerged that they were considering Balogun from Monaco. The hosts rate this hypothetically between 5-6 out of 10, noting that while Balogun would likely score 12+ goals in La Liga, he may not be the long-term solution Barcelona needs. They discuss alternative destinations including Tottenham, Aston Villa, and potentially staying at Monaco, with concerns about whether he'd thrive in the Premier League's physical and fast-paced environment.

Transfer market updates include Rocas Pukstas joining Middlesbrough (making them a four-American contingent), potential moves for Tyler Adams from Bournemouth to Manchester United, Joe Scali's likely departure from Borussia Mönchengladbach, and mentions of Landon Emanalo's loan to Celtic and Peyton Miller's impressive performances for New England Revolution.

The episode closes with Americans in action: Sam Adeniran (LASK) scored two crucial goals to help eliminate Celtic, George Bello impressed for LASK, Ricardo Pepe started scoring for PSV, and 18-year-old Peyton Miller earned praise for forcing NYCFC to make tactical changes during New England's 1-1 draw.

About this episode

<p>The European season is back for U.S. men's national teamers plying their trades abroad! We chat about Yunus Musah's AC Milan resurgence, Folarin Balogun's link to FC Barcelona, Rokas Pukstas' move to the Champo, USMNTers who impressed us this past weekend, and more!</p><br /><p><strong>JOIN THE TSS+ PATREON!</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/totalsoccershow" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Check out our Patreon</a>, which houses bonus podcasts, access to our exclusive Discord, videos, The TSS Scouting Network, and much more.</p><br /><p><strong>WATCH TSS EPISODES ON YOUTUBE!</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Total-Soccer-Show" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We're posting all our episodes here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>! Smash like and subscribe etc.!</p><br /><p><strong>TSS SCOTLAND TRIP!</strong></p><p>Want to come along with the TSS crew to a once-in-a-lifetime soccer trip to Scotland? <a href="https://www.earthlydelights.club/tss" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Register your interest here</a>!</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Key Insights

  • Younes Moussa demonstrated he can operate in Ruben Amorim's system by showing press resistance and completing simple passes while making driving runs, qualities he hadn't consistently shown under Pochettino.
  • The hosts argue that Pochettino's exclusion of Moussa from the World Cup was partly due to Moussa declining a Gold Cup call-up in summer 2025 rather than purely system fit concerns.
  • Barcelona's interest in Balogun represents a notable shift in how elite clubs view USMNT players, as targeting a player for meaningful first-team minutes at a top-five club level was uncommon before this window.
  • The hosts believe Balogun would function better at Barcelona than in the Premier League due to Barcelona having more possession and creating more clear-cut chances for their forwards.
  • Sam Adeniran, who dominated USL and had limited MLS success, has emerged as a key player for LASK by scoring 10 goals in 2,000 minutes last season and could become a fringe USMNT option.
  • Joe Lowry asserts that current striker depth for the USMNT is stronger than at any point in the past decade, with multiple viable options beyond traditional starters.
  • Peyton Miller, an 18-year-old MLS left back, possesses champion-league-level ceiling athletically according to the hosts, despite still being a work in progress technically.
  • The hosts express skepticism that American strikers traditionally thrive in the Premier League due to its physical nature and quick player turnover when performers underperform.

Topics

USMNT player performances in European competitionsTransfer market speculation and player movementsYounes Moussa's AC Milan resurgenceFolarin Balogun's potential Barcelona transferAmerican players in EuropeMLS to Europe transfersCeltic's Champions League qualifying exit

Transcript

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