NOW that Middlesbrough striker Folarin Balougun is getting amongst the goals, the Arsenal loanee feels he is reaping the benefits of his loan spell on Teesside and is ‘enjoying every minute’.

The 20-year-old capped off a comfortable win against Birmingham City on Tuesday night with a well taken goal from the edge of the box in a 2-0 victory, which was his second goal in three games. He’s so far featured 14 times since moving to Teesside in January and is highly rated by manager Chris Wilder.

With Balogun set to feature prominently between now and the end of the season, he’s ready to continue soaking up the experience of being at Boro.

Balogun told BBC Radio Tees Sport: “It’s my first loan spell. It’s obviously very different to how I grew up in the academy at Arsenal but I’m enjoying every minute of it.

“There is just so many things that I wasn’t aware of. I wasn’t in the environment to learn, as in playing men’s football, so I think now that I have that opportunity I am just trying to absorb as much as I can.”

Before the international break after this weekend, Boro’s attentions are on the visit of Premier League Chelsea in the quarter final of the FA Cup.

Thomas Tuchel’s side and Chris Wilder’s men battle it out at the Riverside Stadium for a place in the last four.

Having been in and around Arsenal’s first-team, Balogun is used to coming up against Premier League opposition and rubbing shoulders with high profile players. It’s another tick in the box for him that he is able to do the same during his spell with Wilder’s side.

Balogun continued: “My first start was at Manchester United in the FA Cup so you can’t really ask for more in terms of a stage to play on. Then we had Tottenham at Teesside, we obviously got the result there.

“Then we’ve got Chelsea this Saturday so that is obviously great that I am able to still play against these teams on my loan spell this deep into the season and with the league games as well. So it’s really good.”

While Balogun is likely to feature in the game against Chelsea, Boro are assessing the fitness of Slovenian striker Andraz Sporar. The 28-year-old has missed the last two games through illness. James Lea-Siliki has also been absent with the same problem.