So o wrote this mornings blog last night.
The synopsis was around a left back merry1go-round that is delaying exits for Nuno Tavares, Kieran Tierney and West Ham’s Aaron Cresswell.
Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Aston Villa are both chasing Cresswell, whilst his exit could open the day for Tierney to move to West Ham.
Then overnight, David Ornstein killed my blog with his breaking news:
A loan deal to Spain is a move that no one saw coming.
In the blog that will now never see the light of day, I wrote about KTs issue in finding a new club.
Out of the other top 6 Premier League clubs , Newcastle were the only ones in the market for a new left back. They have bought in Chelsea youngster Lewis Hall on loan with an obligation to buy.
Chelsea, Man U, Man City or Liverpool were never really interested in recruiting the Scotsman.
As you went down the league, more clubs would close their door on him.
Aston Villa have Lucas Digne, a move to Tottenham is a non-starter, and he is just not a Brighton sort of player.
That left him with the likes of West Ham, Fulham, Crystal Palace and other mid-lower league teams. Moved that KT clearly did not want to make.
Whilst Sociedad are not one of Spain’s big names, they have established themselves in the top 6 in La Liga over the last few years seasons.
They have now finished top 6 four seasons on the bounce. Last year they finished 4th which saw them qualify for the Champions League.
Reports are Sociedad will pay his full wages, as well as a long fee that could be as high as £5m.
KT will get to play regular first team football again, including in the Champions League, and remind potential buyers in 2024 just how good a left back he is.
Good luck to him.
The other one with one foot out the door is Folarin Balogun.
Whilst it is good luck to Tierney, it is more good riddance to Flo.
Balogun should have returned from his season on loan with France, got his head down in pre-season training and worked hard. That would have led him to get chances to show what he can do in the friendlies and force his way up the pecking order at Arsenal.
Instead, he returned from his loan move and made it very clear that he wanted first team football or was going to leave.
It showed a player who was not willing to work for it. That thought he deserved to be given it. And it is no wonder Arteta basically showed him the door.
He is clearly a young man that thinks he deserves an opportunity without firstly working for it. His decision to change allegiances highlights this.
For England, he had Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins and Tammy Abraham ahead. Instead of backing up a good 6 months, he moaned to the press that he was not getting a chance and then switched his allegiances.
But he did not opt for the nation of his parents, like so many players with African heritage do. He opted for America.
With Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awonyi and Emmanuel Dennis, Nigeria are not short of a decent striker. Balogun was not guaranteed getting into their squad.
So he chose the easy option of playing for America, a team whom he would walk straight in for. And suddenly on social media he began promoting himself as “Mr America“, despite having never even previously mentioned Independence Day or Thanksgiving.
Back at Arsenal, I was always concerned about his snide posts on social media.
There was a time last season (I think, my memory is a little fuzzy), when Eddie Nketiah missed a good chance. That evening Balogun posted up a compilation of goals he had scored.
Then over the summer, whilst training on his own prior to returning to Arsenal, he released a video of him working out in an Inter Milan shirt. It was a clear “come and get me” plea.
So Balogun, who thought he was good enough to start for Arsenal, is on the verge of joining Monaco for £40m.
Last season, Monaco finished 6th in Ligue 1 and are not even in Europe for this campaign.
Why did no better team come in for Balogun? Were they concerned with his attitude? Were they unable to offer him the guarantees of first team football that he demanded after 1 senior season?
I am sure he will do well in France. Score 20 league goals again. But as we know scoring in France is much easier than the Premier League.
It will be interesting to follow his career. Where he goes next after Monaco.
Will a big European club come on for him? Or will he end up at the West Ham or Crystal Palace’s of this world? Clubs he probably looked down his nose at and scoffed when he was told of their interest.
Big talent, but big ego as well. Goodbye.
Have a great Friday!
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
This is a good move from Mikel Arteta. He is acting like a responsible manager from an elite club. He made Per Mertersacker’s work in Hale End much easier. This is the way to go. Work hard, be humble and strive for improvement. All the time.
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