Arsenal are set to lose one of their most promising young stars this summer permanently.
Manager Mikel Arteta has built his side on youth products from the club's Hale End academy, integrating the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe into his side before adding Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson. Folarin Balogun is currently on loan, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock have been prominent squad players in recent years.
But with Arsenal doing so well this season, it would seem as the Gunners have actually outgrown some of their younger prospects – and now perhaps their most exciting starlet is set to leave the club.
According to the Athletic's David Ornstein, Charlie Patino is set to depart this summer in search of first-team football. The midfielder wants a permanent transfer, too, instead of another loan.
Patino broke into the first team last season for cup games against Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, scoring in the former before heading on loan to Blackpool this season. The Tangerines were relegated at the weekend from the Championship but the teenagers has been a bright spark in their fight.
Despite the promise that Patino has shown, however, he isn't likely to be integrated into the first team set-up any time soon. The Gunners are reportedly looking for another midfielder or two, with Champions League football returning to the Emirates Stadium next season for the first time in seven campaigns.
"Amicable talks have taken place with Arsenal, who are ready to help facilitate a switch amid growing interest from the UK and abroad," Ornstein writes.
Eligible for England and Spain, Patino was included at No.13 in FFT's list of the 50 most exciting teenagers to watch this year.
The 19-year-old is valued at €8 million by Transfermarkt.
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Arsenal are already being linked with a host of big names ahead of a summer back in the Champions League.
Mason Mount is an option in midfield, with Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic and Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby rumoured in the attack. Both Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and Crystal Palace star Wilf Zaha are on the radar, too. Younger stars are interesting the Gunners, too: Vitor Roque might end up at the Emirates, while Flamengo's Matheus Franca is being watched.
Meanwhile, cult hero Mathieu Flamini has refused to rule out a move to buy Arsenal.
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