Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Troy Deeney!? USMNT and Monaco forward Folarin Balogun builds his perfect striker

The 22-year-old forward is in the process of enhancing his own reputation in the final third of the field, with a €30 million (£26m/$32m) summer transfer taking him to Monaco from Premier League giants Arsenal. Having starred on loan in France with Reims last season, Balogun has remained a regular source of goals for club and country.

He has admitted in the past to being a fan of the likes of Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappe, with the USMNT star looking to take inspiration from iconic figures that have graced the very top of the game. There are, however, a few surprising picks within his selection of stars for ESPN that make up the ultimate frontman.

Balogun has picked the heading ability of Ronaldo and dribbling skills of Messi – which come as no surprise – but he has gone with the movement of ex-Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani and the work rate of Watford legend Deeney. He has also sided with former Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka when it comes to strength – which is not a quality that the England international is renowned for.

Balogun’s selection is completed by the pace of PSG superstar Mbappe and the finishing ability and link up play of of Bayern Munich No.9 Harry Kane – with the American hoping to add as many of those qualities as possible to his own game in the years to come.