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By Abiodun Adewale.
After equaling Victor Ikpeba’s record of most goals scored by a Nigerian in a Ligue 1 season, on loan Arsenal forward English-Nigerian striker Folarin Balogun is again close to matching another record set by an English player.
Balogun is close to equalling a Ligue 1 record of 18 goals held by Tottenham Hotspur icon Glenn Hoddle as the Englishman with the highest number of goals in a Ligue 1 season.
After a three-game scoring drought, the England U-21 international was back on the scoresheet on Sunday as Stade de Reims registered a 1-0 win at Ikpeba and Hoddle’s former club, Monaco.
With his strike against Monaco, Balogun equaled the Nigerian record for most goals in a single Ligue 1 season, which was set by Victor Ikpeba in the 1997/98 campaign.
The Arsenal loanee is now the third highest scorer in the French topflight with 16 goals in 26 appearances.
Balogun, eligible for Nigeria, England and the United States, needs to score just two goals to match the highest number of goals scored by an Englishman in a single season in the French Ligue 1.
Hoddle set the record during the 1988/89 season when he notched 18 goals in 32 appearances for Monaco in the French topflight with the legendary Arsene Wenger in the Monaco dugout.
The retired England international was voted the Best Foreign Player in the French topflight in 1988.
Balogun notched his 16th goal in the Ligue 1 faster than Ikpeba. While the Arsenal loanee played in 26 games, the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner made 30 appearances before reaching the figure.