Reports that Stade de Reims want to sign Folarin Balogun permanently have been dismissed as unrealistic, following his sixth goal of the season on Sunday.

Folarin Balogun continued his excellent early-season form at the weekend by scoring yet another goal for Reims, his sixth of the Ligue 1 season.

That puts him joint-third in the scoring charts behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and ahead of a certain Lionel Messi (who admittedly has seven assists on top of his five goals).

Little wonder that reports in France are starting to suggest Reims might want to make their loan deal permanent, but Robin Bairner has dismissed the claims.

Bairner writes that it’s not going to happen, as it’s clear Reims wouldn’t be able to afford it.

The Ligue 1 club’s record signing cost them €10m, a fee Arsenal surely wouldn’t even consider for Balogun at his age in his form.

Balogun’s latest goal for Reims was a poacher’s effort, getting ahead of his man and holding off a challenge to finish with his left foot. You can watch it here from 0:38.

Despite scoring six, it’s possible Balogun might have scored more goals for Reims if they’d managed to keep 11 players on the pitch more often.

Picking up a red card in six of their last eight games has to have had some impact on their attacking impetus in those matches.

But for now, everything is going to plan for the young Arsenal striker, and the club will already be starting to think about what to do with him next summer.