Former Arsenal scout Brian Stapleton says they had to act quickly to snap up an 11 year-old Charlie Patino six years ago.
Patino made a goalscoring debut in the Carabao Cup win against Sunderland last week.
Stapleton recalled to Football.London: “When I went to watch Charlie I saw straight away the ability. His vision was unbelievable.
“Even at that age he always had space and time. To see a kid at that age doing it, he would never have anyone on him when he received the ball and he knew his next move straight away.
“The first time I saw him I spoke to Arsenal about him. They said ‘what do you think?’ and I said ‘I’m not going to see him anymore. I’ve seen enough of this kid. If we can get him in you need to get him straight away and speak to Luton.’
“The first time I watched him I recommended him that day – I’ve never done that with any player.
“Everyone was interested him. When I first watched him nobody was aware of him. That’s why Arsenal had to act quickly, then before you know it Chelsea were there, Manchester City, Tottenham – every club wanted Charlie Patino.”
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