Folarin Balogun’s proposed £40 million transfer to Everton fell through on deadline day after the striker decided against the move, citing dissatisfaction with how he was treated during his medical examination. Thiago Scuro, the chief executive of Monaco, stated that the player felt uncomfortable with the doubts raised by Everton’s medical staff regarding his health, leading him to reject the contract despite a deal sheet being signed shortly before the 11pm deadline.
The situation began at 4pm when Balogun arrived in Liverpool for his medical. By 7pm, Everton contacted Monaco to raise concerns about the results, which Scuro described as baseless according to both Monaco’s medical team and the player’s personal doctors. Scuro noted that the ensuing discussions between the two clubs’ medical departments lasted several hours, during which time reports of a failed medical surfaced in the media. He emphasized that he did not want to “create war” with the Premier League side, but insisted the explanations provided by Everton were insufficient to justify their concerns.
Everton, having failed in attempts to sign Joshua Zirkzee or Tammy Abraham, had sought to restructure the fee for Balogun. Sources from the Merseyside club claimed the 25-year-old arrived late from France and that Monaco delayed sharing necessary medical records, leaving them little time to resolve the issues. Scuro countered that the Premier League’s mechanism for requesting an extra hour to complete paperwork was utilized five minutes before the window closed, but the deal collapsed when the player ultimately refused to sign.
The transfer saga also involved Chelsea, who had reached a £47 million agreement to sign Lamine Camara as a replacement for the Manchester City-bound Enzo Fernández. Monaco, who preferred to sell Balogun to raise funds, reneged on the Camara deal once Everton confirmed they were ready to proceed with the Balogun transfer around 10pm. Scuro explained that once the Everton deal was back on track, they informed Chelsea that Camara was no longer available, maintaining that such late-window dynamics are a standard part of the industry.
Addressing the criticism directed at Monaco, Scuro rejected the notion that his club acted unfairly. He noted that Monaco remains under pressure to meet French financial regulations and may still look to offload players to markets where the transfer window remains open. Regarding Camara’s future, the executive expressed confidence that the player will soon receive even better offers than the one presented by Chelsea. The report also notes that the allegation of Balogun is that: ‘I’m not feeling well by the way the club treated me, and basically. The report also notes that so I’m not comfortable to sign a long contract here.’ And that’s the way we finished our transfer window.”, i have nothing [wrong with me]. The report also notes that he said: “At four o’clock Balo was in Liverpool making his medicals. The report also notes that three hours to go deep on the assessment, check with other doctors; this is a normal situation when the doctor of the club raises concerns … meanwhile, as everything on the last days, this was in the press quite quickly, it took Everton around two. The report also notes that and then of course Chelsea saw the opportunity.”. The report also notes that “There is no reason that this kind of discussions or dynamic on the last day of the transfer window, which all of us decided to be on the last day, trying to find solutions, with the clock ticking on our neck, [makes Monaco] the bad guys in the room; that Monaco is not fair, Monaco is not right.
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