Still believes Hatters starlet should stay put despite interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs

It was reported in the Daily Mail yesterday that the 11-year-old, who plays for the Hatters junior teams, is interesting the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, with a £10,000 fee believed to have been agreed for his services.

However, Still pointed to the lack of English talent coming through at upper echelons of the game and urged Patino to stay put and develop his game further at Kenilworth Road.

He said: “He’s obviously a very talented young man and I say it with the greatest respect, whether they go to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, the chances of them playing for those clubs are so small.

“Because to play for those clubs you haven’t got to be the best in the country, you’ve got to be the best in the world.

“Some of these young boys need to go and get games under their belt at a level that they’re comfortable with and establish themselves as proper players and I think that’s the best path for the their career, that’s my opinion.

“If I had a son that was playing for Luton, would I want him to go to Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United at that age?

“No, I’d leave him where he was, where he was happy, where he was comfortable and let him learn his trade and if he’s good enough someone will come and buy him later, while he’ll be closer to the first team than he will be for some of these young men that go to the clubs now”

Still also spoke of his desire to see more youngsters coming through the ranks at Kenilworth Road and for the full story, see the News/Gazette on sale next week.