Arsenal are due to trigger a two-year extension in Charlie Patino’s contract, with the teenager’s current deal due to expire at the end of the season.
The 19-year-old is currently on loan at Blackpool in the Championship and performing well, set to stay with the Tangerines for the rest of the campaign.
Whether he has a future in the Arsenal first team or not is yet to be seen, but the Gunners certainly do not want to lose him on a free transfer and the Daily Mail report that they will trigger the two-year extension that they are able to in his contract.
The report states that Arsenal must trigger the extension by the end of 2022 and they will do so, although plans over a new long-term contract are not being made yet.
Patino has impressed Blackpool manager Michael Appleton during his time in the Championship so far, quickly adapting to the physical nature of the game.
‘I’d like to think progression-wise he’s learnt a lot,’ said Appleton. ‘He’s certainly developed already in a short space of time.
‘There’s parts of his game that people probably questioned – even at a very young age – whether he could cope with it, and obviously the physicality side of it was probably one. I think he’s dealt with that really, really well.
‘I think he is far more competitive than what people give him credit for. He’s had to play in two or three different positions and had two or three different roles in terms of what we want from him. He’s enjoyed that, he’s stepped up and taken the responsibility at a very young age.
‘I think both ourselves and Arsenal are delighted with Charlie. I think Charlie is in a good place and he’s looking forward to the games coming up.’
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