Transfer News: Barcelona show interest in Charlie Patino

Barcelona have reportedly shown an interest in 17-year-old Arsenal whizkid Charlie Patino, but the Gunners have no intentions of parting ways with the youngster.

According to Football.london’s Chris Wheatley, as relayed by the Mirror, Barcelona have taken a liking towards Arsenal teenage sensation Charlie Patino but will be rebuffed in their advances to land the midfielder.

Patino, 17, started out at the academy of Luton Town before he was spotted by an Arsenal scout, following which he made the jump to the north London side’s youth setup in 2015. Since then, the teenager has enjoyed a steady rise through the ranks and has already been promoted to the club’s Under-23 team despite being just 17 years old.

A central midfielder who can play as a No. 6 or a No. 8, Patino has featured four times in the Premier League 2 for Arsenal this season and even scored a brilliant goal in their recent win over Manchester United Under-23s. The teenager has also represented the England national team across different age-group levels and has started to attract interest from the who’s who of Europe, including Barcelona.

Barcelona, over the past few months, have been actively scouring the market for young talent to recruit for their academy and B teams. This has seen them line up a move for Turkish prodigy Emre Demir while Dynamo Moscow’s teenage midfielder Arsen Zakharyan has also emerged as a transfer target for the Blaugrana.

Joining the list now, as per the aforementioned report, is Arsenal wonderkid Patino. It is also claimed that the 17-year-old is a Barcelona supporter and idolises club legends like Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

However, any move to Barcelona is unlikely to materialise as Arsenal have no intentions of losing their teenage prospect. Indeed, Patino is said to have made a big impression on manager Mikel Arteta as well as some senior members of the squad when called up for first-team training.

That, coupled with his performances for the reserves, has meant that Arteta is ready to hand him opportunities in the first-team.  Indeed, the report states that Patino is likely to be named on the bench when Arsenal take on AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup on September 22. Furthermore, the north London giants are also set to hand him a professional contract when he turns 18 next month.

So, Barcelona’s interest in the 17-year-old midfield prodigy are unlikely to lead to anything fruitful as things stand.