Arsenal have triggered an extension clause in Charlie Patino's contract to keep him at the club until 2025.
The talented midfielder, 19, was due to become a free agent at the end of the season but the Gunners have officially activated a two-year extension clause amid reported interest from European heavyweights such as Barcelona. Patino is currently enjoying a season-long loan at Blackpool, where he's been learning his trade in the Championship.
Having started an impressive 14 games in the second tier, registering two goals and two assists in the process, the England youth international has wowed fans and come good on his promising performances in Arsenal's academy. But the Gunners' recent decision to extend his current deal on the same modest terms is only the beginning of negotiations regarding his future.
That's because Goal report that Emirates chiefs are now set to hold talks over a new and improved long-term contract which would all but kill widespread interest from elsewhere. Watford-born Patino, who's eligible to represent Spain due to his father holding a Spanish passport, is considered to be one of Arsenal's best-ever academy products, having shone during his days at Hale End.
Now, though, he's strutting his stuff in men's football on the Lancashire coast. A regular starter for Michael Appleton 's Blackpool, Patino has played every minute since the Tangerines returned to action following the World Cup break. Appleton has been hugely impressed by his loanee's displays at Bloomfield Road and notably dished out some high praise earlier in the season.
"18 years old, he still is! He can deal with the ball in any area of the pitch, go past people left side, right side," the Blackpool boss hailed. "I said when he came to the club he's as good as anything I've seen dealing with the ball and with good movement of the ball as you've seen tonight [a 0-0 draw away to Sunderland ] he can play as a six, can play as a ten, can play as an eight. He's got a really, really good future ahead of him."
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is in full agreement with Appleton's assessment, having handed Patino his Gunners debut in December 2021. Sensationally, the highly-rated starlet scored within minutes of coming off the bench in Arsenal's EFL Cup quarter-final against Sunderland, as he put the gloss on a 5-1 win.
While Patino described the occasion as the 'best day of his life', Arteta kept a lid on the excitement post-match in typically measured fashion. "He is a kid that is coming through our system, a lovely kid," the Gunners boss added. "He is training with us almost every week. It was a dream. As a debut to come here, to score in front of our fans, a really special moment.
"Now we have to cook him slowly. Today was a good start, I think. [Too much hype around him] is what we have to avoid. He still has a lot of competition in front of him. He is really young. And he needs to go step by step. Today he was lucky, he got the opportunity and he took it really well."
