Charlie Patino | This is a really good team, I’m looking forward to being part of it
Charlie Patino wants to hit the ground running for Swansea City after signing on a season-long loan from Premier League side Arsenal.
The 19-year-old midfielder was with Blackpool last term and despite their battle at the bottom end of the Championship table he is hoping that, with 37 Championship matches already under his belt, he can have a big impact for the Swans.
He is the seventh signing of the summer for Michael Duff following the additions of Josh Ginnelly, Josh Key, Carl Rushworth, Mykola Kuharevich, Harrison Ashby and Jerry Yates.
Yates is a familiar face for the young midfielder who formed a good partnership with the Swans' striker during their season together at Bloomfield Road.
The England age-grade international – who also qualifies for Spain – will be hoping to build on what he learned at the Lancashire club and improve his personal performances even further while targeting a good campaign with the Swans.
“I’m really excited and can’t wait to get started,” he said.
“Playing against Swansea City last year was a really tough challenge so I’m really looking forward to being part of it.
“Swansea are a really good team with the ball in and out of possession. It just made me want to be part of it this year. I think this is a good place to help me develop, and I just want to get the team in the best possible position this year.
“The facilities here are Premier League standard and I’m really looking forward to working here every day. I’m looking forward to seeing the manager and players, and get training.
“I developed a lot last season at Blackpool. When you’re coming from an academy, it’s a lot different from being in a first team environment. In a first team, you’re fighting for three points every week and games are always just around the corner and it’s Saturday, Tuesday most weeks.
“I think learning on the pitch from a lot of experienced players at Blackpool was massive for me. And at Swansea as well, there’s a lot of experienced players and it will be great to learn from them.
“Playing 37 games last year was massive for me and I believe that will help me start well here. I’m really looking forward to it.
“Jerry’s a bubbly character. He got a lot of goals last season and he shows his quality week-in-week-out and hopefully I can set up more goals for him this season.”
The youngster made the switch from Luton Town’s academy to Arsenal aged just 11 and shone within the Gunners' youth set-up.
He made his senior debut for the London outfit in December 2021 and marked the moment with a goal as they secured a comfortable victory against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup.
Patino sees goals and assists as an important part of his game and wants to show that in Swans colours.
“Moving to Arsenal was massive for me,” he explained.
“The facilities were completely different to what I’d had at Luton, but I had to adapt and being there seven or eight years, I feel like I’ve grown and learned the game a lot more.
"But I feel like I still have a lot of learning to do and that’s why I’ve taken the step to come here to try to take my game to the next level.
“My debut for Arsenal was very special. I was given the opportunity to be on the bench and thankfully the game was looking comfortable which meant the gaffer could bring me on. I just tried to be myself and play my own game and thankfully I was in the box at the right time and managed to get a goal which was nice.
"I think I’m a creative player and I like to get in on the goals and assists but I like to think I’m an intelligent player. I like to break lines and drive forward with the ball. We have a lot of technicians in the team so I’m looking forward to linking up with them. I think that will be really good.
"My aim at Swansea is to learn from the players and staff. We want to get to the best possible position and for me personally, I want to play as many games as possible and help the team."