Adi Hütter confirms Folarin Balogun removed from penalty duty | OneFootball

AS Monaco manager Adi Hütter has confirmed that Folarin Balogun (22) has been taken off penalty-taking duty following his latest miss against RC Lens.

Balogun has missed four penalties since joining Monaco from Arsenal in the summer. His two misses against OGC Nice earlier this season proved costly as Les Monégasques went on to lose 1-0, whilst his miss in the penalty shootout against Rouen secured Monaco’s elimination from the Coupe de France.

Hütter makes another big decision

The USMNT forward’s latest miss once again proved inconsequential with Takumi Minamino securing a 3-2 victory over Lens in injury time. However, Balogun’s latest miss from the spot has seen Hütter take action.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Hütter revealed that Balogun will not be on penalty-taking duties again this season, “He is no longer our penalty taker. The No.1 now is Wissam Ben Yedder. When he isn’t on the pitch, the decision is in my hands,” said the Austrian.

It is not the first big decision taken by Hütter in recent weeks. Amidst a downturn in form in 2024, Hütter made the choice to make Denis Zakaria captain, in the absence of club captain Wissam Ben Yedder. When the French forward isn’t on the pitch, the armband is usually handed to Youssuouf Fofana. Against Lens, Hütter also replaced Philipp Köhn after his blunder against Toulouse FC. Radoslaw Majecki took the Swiss goalkeeper’s place and that choice is “definitive” in the words of Hütter.

‘Balogun is on form’ – Hütter

Despite Balogun’s lack of success from the penalty spot, Hütter sought to praise the former Arsenal forward, who did get on the scoresheet against Lens. “I get the feeling that he wants to prove to everyone that he is a top-level forward. He is on the right path. By bringing this impact, as he did against Lens, he is helping us a lot,” he said.

The Austrian added, “The way I see it is that he is on form, but playing against Paris Saint-Germain, anything can happen. He could score, he could miss chances, but that’s football. We have to differentiate his performance and the penalty situation. Okay, missing penalties is too much, but when I see his performance, how he worked for the team in this match, you see why we signed him this summer.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle