For Everton, the attraction was obvious. Balogun is a mobile centre-forward with top-level pedigree, and a late-market deal would have offered a different attacking profile to what the squad already has. But Deadline Day moves are fragile. They rely on agreement from the buying club, the selling club and, crucially, the player.
That is why these collapses hit harder at the end of a window than they do earlier in the summer.
The frustration for Monaco seems to have gone beyond losing a sale. The update says the French club had already pulled the plug on a move for Lamine Camara to join Chelsea as a replacement for Enzo Fernandez before Balogun made his decision.
That matters because it points to a failed domino effect:
Instead of clarity, Monaco were left with uncertainty at both ends of the squad.
Chelsea’s role underlines how interconnected modern windows have become. One stalled exit or one rejected move can affect several clubs at once. If Camara was being considered as part of a wider reshuffle around Enzo Fernandez, then Balogun’s call helped freeze more than one negotiation.
That is the lasting lesson here. A single player decision, especially late in the market, can shut multiple doors at once. The next storyline to watch is whether Everton revisit the striker market in the next window - and whether Monaco revive any part of the wider deal chain they had been trying to build.