Swansea City’s Michael Duff has thrown his support behind Charlie Patino, on loan from Arsenal, emphasising the learning curve following his sending-off against Sunderland.

Swansea City’s head coach, Michael Duff, has backed Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino to learn from the two-yellow red card he received in the first 20 minutes of their recent match against Sunderland.

Despite the setback, Duff remains optimistic about the 20-year-old’s development. “He’s been good, Charlie,” said Duff, dismissing any suggestion that the player’s recent media attention has affected his performance or attitude.

According to Duff, the experience will be valuable for Patino. “We’ll go through it [the red card]. It’s part of his learning. If you give referees to make… I don’t think either was a yellow card ultimately,” Duff said on the incident, suggesting the bookings were harsh.

There has been speculation about Patino’s future, with reports linking him to top-tier clubs, including AC Milan, following his promising start at Swansea.

Duff, however, is keen to focus on the player’s growth. “He’s had a lot of headlines this week in terms of a bit of noise and things like that but he’s been flatlining in terms of his own ego, keeping it in check and not getting ahead of himself.

“It’s why he’s here, different experiences. Arsenal want him to have these experiences with different teams so it doesn’t happen when he’s playing for them,” he explained. “It’s why we have players out on loan.”

Despite the red card and a penalty miss by Jamal Lowe, Swansea managed to hold on for a draw against Sunderland. Duff wants to use the situation to underline the collective effort of the team, rather than individual errors.

Patino, who is on a season-long loan with Swansea, will miss the team’s next match against Ipswich Town due to suspension.

However, Duff has confidence in Patino’s character and commitment to improvement. “He knows where he wants to be but he’s prepared to work every day to get there. This will be another part of his learning,” Duff said.

“Inside he’ll feel like he’s let the team down but he hasn’t let the team down,” Duff added. “He’s made a couple of mistakes but it happens.

“We talk about togetherness and the way the players have got him out of the muck so the headline isn’t ‘Charlie Patino cost the team points’ or ‘Jamal cost the team points by missing the penalty’. The team stuck together.”

With one goal and four assists in his 12 appearances, Patino has shown the promise that made him one of the bright prospects for Arsenal’s future.

His time at Swansea, especially under the guidance of Duff, is shaping to be a crucial period in his career development.