Exclusive: Charlie Patino focussed on Swansea City and Luke Williams as rumours swirl about Arsenal future | OneFootball

Highlights

Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino believes there is "no better place to come to learn and improve" than Swansea City and is focussed on contributing as much as possible under new boss Luke Williams despite rumours continuing to swirl about his long-term future.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via Sky Bet, the 20-year-old revealed there is optimism in South Wales that the 10-point gap between the Swans and the Championship top six is not too big to cut in what is left of the 2023/24 campaign.

Swansea are 16th in the table with 18 games left to play and are still getting to grips with life under Williams, who left Notts County to become Michael Duff's permanent replacement at the Swansea.com Stadium at the start of January.

Duff's five-month spell as Russell Martin's was an ill-fated one as his shift toward a more pragmatic style of play failed to get results and meant that, due in part to some abrasive press conferences, he quickly lost the fanbase.

The appointment of Williams, who served as Martin's assistant at Swansea and MK Dons before taking charge at Notts County and also favours a possession-based, expansive style of play, marks a return to 'The Swansea Way'.

Luke Williams "has started well"

It's going to take time for the 42-year-old's ideas to bed in and bear fruit but there have been some promising signs in his first three games - a 2-0 win against Morecambe in the FA Cup third round, 2-2 draw with Birmingham City, and 3-1 loss to Southampton.

Williams' impact is being felt in the dressing room and the training ground already, however, as Patino told FLW in an exclusive interview.

“The new manager has come in and has started well," he said. "He came in not at an ideal time when we had two tough Championship games, and I'm sure he would have preferred to have had a pre-season or come in at a time where they could have worked with the players for longer. However, the manager and his team have come in and really imposed themselves on the players and everyone has taken on board what they say in training, and he seems like a nice person and a good coach to work with.

“I’m enjoying working with him and I’m already learning a lot as well, so hopefully day-by-day and game-by-game we’ll see improvement and play as best as we can.”

Patino focussed on "helping the team as much as possible"

Patino impressed while on loan at Blackpool last term but is already enjoying the most productive season of his young career - contributing four goals and four assists in 23 games for the Swans.

A highly-rated product of Arsenal's Hale End academy, the midfielder's future beyond the end of the 2023/24 campaign is unclear. The England U21 international's contract is set to expire this summer and a host of big clubs are said to be keen. Reports this week have named Fulham as the latest suitors while AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, and Napoli were linked late last year.

Patino made clear his intentions to fight his way into the first team at the Emirates in an interview with the Daily Mail back in October but it appears he's aware that the best thing for him at the moment is to remain focussed on continuing his development and giving all he can for his loan club.

“It’s always nice to contribute to a goal or assist to help the team and get the three points because that’s the most important thing," he told FLW. "It’s important to be learning every day, whether that be on the training pitch, in the meeting rooms to discuss a game or just trying to find out how to better myself. And, coming to Swansea every day, there is no better place to come to learn and improve.

“In terms of personal targets, I want to play as many minutes this season and get as many goals and assists, helping the team as much as possible."

"We’ve got every chance" of reaching the top six

Swansea are back in FA Cup action tonight as they travel to face Premier League side Bournemouth in the fourth round curtain-raiser but the focus will soon shift back to the Championship and battling their way back up the table.

The Swans are closer to the bottom three (nine points) than they are to sixth (10 points) at the moment but Patino revealed they're looking up and not down.

The Arsenal loanee explained: "Hopefully, with 18 games left, and being 10 points away from the play-offs spots, we’ve got every chance and every right to be there by the end of the season, so we’re going to focus on that and try to work towards it.”

He added: “Luke Williams has come in and we just need to listen to what he has to say, to try and play within the structure and the way he likes to play. Whilst he was at Notts County, he got the most points, the most goals scored and the least conceded, and that’s with all four of his teams, so it shows that he must be doing something right and that’s the reason why Swansea appointed him.

“We have to keep listening to him and his coaching staff, trying to implement what he wants us to do in games and it’s a process, so slowly but surely, it will come over the next 18 games. We don’t know it will happen, but we go on a bit of form, I’m sure momentum and confidence will kick in, and hopefully we can have a good run at getting into the play-offs as soon as possible.”