Folarin Balogun sends message to Everton after deadline-day chaos

Folarin Balogun has taken to social media in his first public activity since the dramatic events that surrounded his failed move to Everton.

Over the course of the day, a deal for the 25-year-old was on, then off and then on again before the player himself ultimately walked away.

After a deal that saw Beto join Fiorentina for a fee in the region of £15million had been sanctioned earlier in the day, David Moyes has been left with Thierno Barry as his only recognised senior striker.

Everton initially had agreed a deal with Monaco worth around £40m for Balogun, who scored 19 goals across all competitions last season and enjoyed a strong World Cup.

An injury discovered in the medical threatened to scupper the deal, but after failing with a loan approach for Joshua Zirkzee, the Toffees renegotiated a lower fee with Monaco and were set to proceed with the deal.

Balogun was unhappy with what had taken place, however, and opted against the move in a decision that also saw Chelsea's deal for Lamine Camara collapse and has left both clubs short.

Folarin Balogun sends Everton message

Balogun's decision has left Everton in a bind, but it is difficult to blame anyone for the situation than the club themselves.

The Toffees had been aware of the interest in Beto for some time, and were in talks for days over a deal for the United States international to replace him.

Ultimately, it was their error in leaving everything until the final moment which has cost Moyes in squad depth.

Balogun took to social media on Thursday to share pictures of himself back in training for Monaco, and his Instagram story contained a potentially hidden message.

The post was accompanied with the song Mercury, sang by Dave and Kamal. Among the lyrics the striker included were, 'know your own worth, they're gonna label you a narcissist'.

There was certainly a sense of Balogun choosing to maintain his self-worth when he decided against following through with Tuesday's move.

Monaco sporting director explains Balogun decision

Balogun's decision has also been a negative for Monaco, who needed to raise money this summer to abide by UEFA's financial regulations.

On Wednesday, sporting director Thiago Scuro explained: "Balogun's allegation is that I'm not feeling well because of the way the club treated me.

"I'm not feeling well because Everton's medical department brought doubts about my future or my health.

"I have nothing [no medical problem], so I'm not comfortable to sign a long contract here."

Everton may now turn to the free agent market for a solution, or indeed look internally until January.