Fabrizio Romano has played down talk of Juventus being interested in a transfer deal for highly-rated young Arsenal midfielder Charlie Patino.
The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Swansea City for the season, and it seems we can expect a final decision on the player’s future later in 2024, with nothing concrete happening now.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano attempted to explain the situation, praising Arsenal for a smart move to send Patino out on loan when it looked like the England youth international’s future was in some serious doubt earlier in the summer.
Arsenal fans will hope Patino can become the latest success story from their academy, with exciting talents like Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson becoming key first-team players in recent times.
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Still, there’s a lot of competition for places in Mikel Arteta’s squad, so it’s not too surprising to see some speculation about Patino’s future, with Juve perhaps better able to give him more regular playing time.
“Charlie Patino, the Arsenal youngster out on loan at Swansea City, has also been linked as a target for Juventus, but again I’m not aware of anything between Juve and Patino at the moment. Decisions will be made in the second half of 2024, not now,” Romano said.
“From Arsenal’s perspective, they are happy with Patino’s progress this season and the agreement with Swansea was probably a smart decision by the club when they had to resolve his future back in the summer.”