Patrick Cutrone’s miserable Premier League career is coming to an end, with the Wolverhampton Wanderers man in talks over a move to Sampdoria, as reported by The Express.
A 50-minute appearance in a 1-0 pre-season defeat to Crewe Alexandra feels like a fitting conclusion to Cutrone’s time at Wolves.
The one-time AC Milan striker is little more than a £16 million millstone around the club’s neck these days, and his performance at the Alexandra Stadium will have done little to convince Bruno Lage that he deserves a fresh start in Old Gold.
Cutrone missed a number of presentable opportunities as Wolves slumped to a disappointing defeat during Lage’s first game at the helm.
In fact, wasteful finishing has been a feature of his two-year spell at the club, the Italian international scoring just three times in 28 games.
Has Patrick Cutrone had his last chance at Wolves?
It remains to be seen how much Sampdoria are prepared to pay as they close in on a permanent deal for Cutrone. But you can imagine it will be a lot less than the £16 million Wolves paid in the summer of 2019.
At the time, Cutrone was viewed as one of the most exciting young strikers in Europe, inheriting Pippo Inzaghi’s number nine shirt at AC Milan after bursting onto the scene as a teenager with 18 goals across the 2017/18 season.
Clearly, there is talent in there somewhere.
But, having failed to find the net even once during miserable loan spells at Fiorentina and Valencia last term, Sampdoria are certainly taking a risk as they look to peel Cutrone off rock bottom, his confidence battered and his reputation bruised.
Cutrone’s exit will raise questions about the future of another young striker who spent last season on loan away from Molineux.
Rafa Mir, in contrast, was a massive success at Huesca, scoring 16 goals while attracting interest from Atletico Madrid, Celta Vigo and Valencia.
Wolves have already sold goalkeeper Rui Patricio to Roma.
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