Wolverhampton Wanderers brought former AC Milan striker Patrick Cutrone to the Premier League after a fine spell in Serie A.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker David Connolly has labelled new £16 million signing Patrick Cutrone a ‘gamble’, speaking to the Kick Off on talkSPORT (30 July, 7:00pm).
Raul Jimenez might have enjoyed a sensational debut campaign at Molineux, scoring 17 goals in all competitions to convince Wolves to part with a club record £30 million fee to turn his loan spell from Benfica into a permanent move.
But there was a chronic lack of competition for the Mexican international in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad with neither Leo Bonatini nor Rafa Mir considered ready for life in the Premier League.
So with Wolves looking to balance Premier League commitments with a Europa League run in the upcoming campaign, former AC Milan striker Cutrone could prove to be an inspired addition.
After weeks of speculation, the 22-year-old Italy international arrived on a four-year deal on Tuesday, as reported by the BBC, after scoring 27 goals in two seasons in Milan’s first-team.
While acknowledging that Cutrone has plenty to prove in English football, Connolly is hopeful that Wolves have pulled off another coup.
“Cutrone is pretty young, he hasn’t scored that many goals. He might be considered a gamble but probably one where, because he’s young, it’s probably a good deal money-wise,” said Connolly, who played for Wolves in 1998/99.
“He’s not that expensive at an initial £16m, so it could be worth the risk. And you have to say a lot of their signings have worked out. Not too many have gone wrong of late.”
Connolly has a point. Adama Traore is perhaps the only big-money signing who has not proved to be worth every penny since joining during the Fosun era and Cutrone’s old-school style should make him a perfect fit for the lone-striker system Nuno prefers.
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