‘All the signs’… 20-year-old unlikely to sign new deal and is looking set to leave Arsenal in the summer

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Journalist Charles Watts has suggested what all the signs are suggesting concerning the future of Charlie Patino once the Arsenal midfielder returns from his latest loan spell.

It may have surprised some Arsenal fans had they been told a couple of years ago that Charlie Patino is still yet to really force his way into Mikel Arteta’s plans at the Emirates.

The 20-year-old appeared to have such a bright future ahead of him. However, in the years since he first emerged onto the scene, Arsenal have enjoyed a rapid rise. And they now find themselves as title contenders in the Premier League.

Charlie Patino likely to leave Arsenal this summer

Patino has spent much of the last couple of years out on loan. He is currently in the Championship with Swansea City.

The youngster has played 24 games in the second tier this term. However, he has not completed 90 minutes once this season. And he has fallen closer to the periphery of the squad since Luke Williams was appointed in January.

That will do his hopes of making the grade at Arsenal few favours. And speaking on his YouTube channel, Watts appears to be fairly confident that Patino will probably be leaving the Gunners permanently in the summer – but with the door open for a future return.

“I think they were very close to selling him last summer, but they didn’t. They decided to reassess and give him another loan spell. And they were going to all sit down at the end of the season and come to a decision about where his future might lie. And I still feel like they’re probably going to make the decision to sell,” he said.

“I’m not sure he’d sign a new contract at the moment anyway. I think it would take a lot of convincing him to sign a new contract. And all the signs are suggesting that it’s probably going to be time for Charlie to make a move. And Arsenal will protect themselves, get a good sell-on clause, they’ll get a buy-back option like they do with a lot of their young kids right now. And hopefully they’ll get a decent amount of money for him.”

Midfielder needs to get career properly up and running

It makes sense to let Patino leave permanently if Arsenal are not convinced that they will be able to keep him in the long-term.

The youngster would surely benefit from finding a permanent home where he is going to play regularly, whether that be in the Championship or perhaps at the lower end of the Premier League. Fulham are one side who have shown interest in Patino.

And Arsenal should end up with a lot of clauses which will benefit them greatly if he goes on to realise his full potential.