The US star who couldn't be an American under Trump's plan

Until three years ago, there was no guarantee Balogun would end up playing for the United States. Having appeared for the US and England at Under-18 level, he was at the heart of Lee Carsley's England Under-21 plans - scoring seven goals in 13 appearances as they geared up for the 2023 Under-21 European Championship. But his performances on loan at Reims from Arsenal during a prolific 2022-23 campaign - which earned him a £35m move to Monaco - had US officials circling. There was also a huge swell of public support for him to commit to the US at a time the route map to England's senior side appeared far more complicated. Having withdrawn from an England Under-21s camp, a secret rendezvous to meet US Soccer officials was instead plastered all over social media and he was courted with NBA tickets and trips to Florida. There was also reportedly an invite to the New York Yankees to watch training, and several senior US internationals were dispatched to take him out to dinner to convince him to make the switch. "When I committed, and throughout the whole cycle, and the whole journey to me being at this point, I've always said the fans gave me so much motivation and showed me so much support," Balogun said on Friday. "For me, the most important thing has always been to be able to repay that. …