"You failed a medical at a Premier League club. Every other Premier League club is going to say the same thing — because they all talk." That's Tim Howard, and he's not wrong.
The dust has barely settled on Folarin Balogun's chaotic deadline day collapse, and the verdict from two men who know both Everton and USMNT football intimately is pretty uncomfortable reading for the 25-year-old. Howard and Landon Donovan broke it down on their Unfiltered Soccer podcast, and neither was willing to dress it up.
What actually happened — and why it matters
Balogun traveled to Liverpool, completed his medical, and had both clubs' signatures on the paperwork. Then, with five minutes left on an already-extended deadline, he walked away. Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro explained that Everton's medical department raised concerns which — in Monaco and Balogun's team's view — had no clinical basis. After two to three hours of back-and-forth between medical departments, Balogun decided the uncertainty about his health was reason enough to kill the deal.
His position, as Scuro laid it out: "I'm not comfortable signing a long contract here because Everton's medical department raised doubts about my future."
You can understand the emotion. After everything Balogun went through at the World Cup — the red card saga, the scrutiny — this felt like another institution expressing doubt in him. But emotion and career strategy are two different things.
The price of walking away
Howard's concern cuts straight to the commercial reality. If Balogun does eventually move to the Premier League, the club will run the same checks, find the same flag, and use it as leverage. A reported $40 million fee becomes something lower. Monaco's negotiating position weakens. Balogun's market value quietly erodes, even if his knee is perfectly fine.
"Sports science can go do one," Howard said, framing what he'd have told himself in that moment. "The manager wants me. The board approved $40 million for me. I'll show you." That's a mindset. Play your way past the doubt rather than letting the doubt win before a ball is kicked.
Donovan was slightly more sympathetic, acknowledging Balogun had been through a grinder. But his bottom line was the same: the best outcome — even after a bad process — was to be playing Premier League football at Everton, as their first-choice striker.
Instead, Balogun is back in Monaco, excluded from every matchday squad across all five of their fixtures so far this season. The Saudi, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mexican windows are still open, which gives him some options. But none of them carry the same weight as the one he just turned down with five minutes on the clock.
