Former Blackpool loanee Charlie Patino has garnered interest from Italian trio Internazionale, Juventus and Milan, according to reports.
Patino is currently plying his trade on loan at Swansea City in the Championship and has made 11 appearances this season for the Swans who are slowly climbing back up the table under the guidance of Michael Duff.
The midfielder is currently contracted to Arsenal and even made his professional debut for the Gunners in an emphatic 5-1 victory over Sunderland in the EFL Cup back in 2021 but has spent the last two campaigns getting some experience on loan in League One and the Championship.
His impressive development has been brought to the attention of three of Serie A’s biggest clubs who have been keeping tabs on the 20-year-old, as per football scout Michele Fratini. In an interview with Rai, translated by Pianeta Milan, Fratini also believes Patino is the ‘only playmaker in English football’ [Football League World]:
“I would like to point out Charlie Patino, a midfielder born in 2003 for Arsenal who is playing on loan at Swansea.
“He is a pure talent, he is left-footed, he is the only playmaker in English football.
“He is compared to all the top Italian clubs such as Milan, Juventus, Inter and Napoli. [He] costs 30 million.”
Patino has had a number of excellent performances with the Welsh side this season and earned the hearts of those watching at Bloomfield Road last term. Former Seasiders boss Michael Appleton, now with Charlton Athletic, went as far as to say “he’s as good as anything I’ve seen dealing with the ball”.
It was reported back in May that Arsenal were willing to allow Patino to leave permanently as the youngster was hoping to find first-team football elsewhere but the club ultimately u-turned, opting instead to send him out on loan once more.
Writer’s View
Patino is one of the best young players in the Championship. To call him ‘the only playmaker in English football’ is a bit of a stretch considering James Maddison is tearing it up in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur but he’s arguably the best playmaker in the second tier right now.
Arsenal may live to regret not allowing Patino to thrive in the first-team if the club opts to sell him to Italy and he thrives.
