Charlie Patino returned to London Colney this week, after his loan spell at Blackpool came to an end, to discuss his Arsenal future ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Arsenal loanee enjoyed life in the Championship this season. Patino made 34 appearances for Blackpool during his loan spell, scoring two goals and recording four assists.
Although Blackpool did finish 23rd and were relegated to League One, the 19-year-old was a bright spark in an underperforming team and playing that many games at such a young age will only benefit him moving forward.
Charlie Patino recently posted on his Instagram showing he was back at London Colney, working on his fitness ahead of next season.
Charlie Patino was back with Arsenal at London Colney today after his loan spell at Blackpool came to an end last week.@CharliePatino10💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/EQTEkT8g75
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) May 17, 2023
The question is will the young star be playing his football at the Emirates Stadium next season, or elsewhere?
Charlie Patino is regarded as one of Arsenal’s top prospects with the expectation that he would eventually break into the first-team one day and become one of Mikel Arteta’s main players.
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However, it has recently been reported that the England Under-20 international is eager to secure a transfer away from the Emirates Stadium this summer in order to play first-team football next season.
Charlie Patino scoring for Blackpool during his loan spell. [Image Credit: Getty Images]
Charlie Patino was a big player for Blackpool during his loan spell in 2022/23 and it looks like one year of first-team football has made him hungry for more next season, which is something Arsenal can’t offer him at this current moment.
It appears no decision by Mikel Arteta has been made on Patino’s future yet, with talks expected to happen over the next few weeks ahead of the summer transfer window.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are not in any rush to give up full control of Patino’s future at this stage of his career. The Arsenal board will try to insist on a buy-back clause being included in any proposal if they are to agree to a sale this summer.
Arsenal recently activated a two-year option in Patino’s contract, keeping the playmaker tied to the club until the end of 2024-25.
With Granit Xhaka closing in on a move to Bayern Leverkusen, it could open up a pathway for Charlie Patino to get game time next season if he is to stay at Arsenal. However with the incoming transfer of Declan Rice and one other midfielder expected to arrive this summer, Charlie Patino might not get the minutes he’s looking for at the Emirates Stadium.
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