OFFICIAL: Arsenal wonderkid completes 'dream' transfer

Tom Weber

• Updated: 26 Aug 2024 21:25 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal youngster Charlie Patino has joined Deportivo La Coruna on a permanent deal.

Hailed as one of the biggest wonderkids to come out of the Gunners' Hale End academy when he burst onto the scene in late 2021, Patino has now left the club having made just two senior appearances.

The midfielder failed to break through at Arsenal and spent the past two seasons out on loan at Blackpool and Swansea, respectively. For months, the player had been linked with an exit from the Emirates.

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Patino reportedly had no shortage of suitors. In Italy, for example, the 20-year-old had high-profile admirers, but he has now ended up in the second tier of Spanish football. This, however, is not a dramatic fall from grace but rather the realisation of a childhood dream.

Patino joins Depor

The Arsenal youngster has officially completed a permanent transfer to Deportivo La Coruna, who have shelled out a sizeable €1.2 million to land his signature.

The 1999/2000 LaLiga champions returned to the second division at the end of the previous campaign after four seasons in third-tier no man's land during which they were also on the brink of dropping down to the fourth level at one point.

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Former Gunner Lucas Perez scored the crucial goal that sealed promotion and he will now suit up alongside Patino, who has joined the club he supported as a child. The 20-year-old has represented England at the youth level but is also eligible for Spain through his father, who hails from A Coruna.

"A renowned Deportivo fan for years, Charlie Patino's willingness and desire to join RC Deportivo have been key to our Club being able to sign one of the most talented and promising footballers in English football," an official club statement read.