FIORENTINA HAVE SIGNED striker Patrick Cutrone from Wolves on an initial 18-month loan with the obligation to make the move permanent.
Cutrone returns to Serie A just six months after moving to Molineux from AC Milan for a reported £16 million ($21m) fee.
The deal was seen as something of a coup for the Black Country club at the time, with the move coming on the back of a fine season back in the top flight that saw them finish seventh and qualify for Europe for the first time since 1981.
However, the 22-year-old struggled to make much of an impact as he failed to dislodge Raul Jimenez from the first-choice striking position.
Cutrone made 24 appearances in all competitions for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, but just nine of those were starts. He scored three goals in total, two in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup.
Wolves boss Nuno admits it is “disappointing” for all concerned to see Cutrone move on so soon and says the club will now look into the reasons why the transfer failed.
“It is disappointing for us, with the whole situation,” he told a news conference ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Newcastle.
When you bring a player and things don’t immediately work out, you have to think what happened, why and how it could be different, all of these things.
“Now is the moment for us to analyse, but more importantly that we wish Patrick all the best. Hopefully he can play some game time, which is important for his development.”
Cutrone began his senior career with Milan in 2016, going on to score 27 goals in 90 appearances for the Rossoneri.
He has also represented Italy from U15 through to senior level, winning his first and only senior cap to date in a friendly defeat against Argentina in March 2018.
Though Cutrone struggled in a black and gold shirt, Wolves have maintained the positive momentum generated by their impressive 2018-19 campaign.
The Molineux side are currently seventh in the Premier League and have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League. Fiorentina meanwhile are struggling in 15th place in Serie A going into Sunday’s clash with SPAL.
- Omni
