Arsenal told they have a 20-year-old who’s ‘among the 50 best youngsters in the world’

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Arsenal have a player in their ranks who’s “among the 50 best youngsters in the world”, according to scout Michele Fratini.

The Italian was speaking to TV Play, relayed by TuttoJuve, about the Gunners talent in the context of Juventus reportedly wanting him.

Patino, one of the top talents in the Arsenal academy, is currently out on loan at Championship side Swansea City.

The 20-year-old Gunners gem is doing very well indeed, having registered three goals and four assists from 17 league outings.

Not long ago, Fratini told Rai Sport – via TuttoJuve – that Juve could try to sign Patino from Arsenal and include Moise Kean in the deal.

The football intermediary has now doubled down on his claims. He has even claimed that the Gunners have placed a price tag on their talent.

“Patino? He’s kind of in everyone’s notebook, among the 50 best youngsters in the world,” he said.

“I don’t know if Rabiot will stay at Juve. Patino is left-footed like him and Giuntoli wants to bring the strongest talents around to give quality in the midfield.

“As for the price, the Gunners are asking for around €30m (£26m), maybe €20m fixed with €10m in bonuses.”

Arsenal unlikely to offload Charlie Patino any time soon – TBR View

In all honesty, this looks like a pretty unlikely deal for Juve to pull off. Particularly in the January transfer window.

Arsenal clearly rate Patino highly. Considering he’s shining on loan at a Championship club, the next step tends to be the parent club’s first team. He’s progressing nicely, and you’d like to think the Gunners would want him to stick around.

Obviously it’s not completely impossible (very little is in football). Theoretically, Patino could have his head turned by Juve. And £26m isn’t a bad sum for a player who’s only made two senior Arsenal outings. Who knows whether the Gunners could look to cash in now.

However, if Patino does fulfil his potential, then you could well be looking at his value being composed of multiples of £26m. Considering Declan Rice joined Arsenal for £105m (and that now seems a bargain), Patino could well become worth a lot more than £26m.