Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Patrick Cutrone will have his third loan spell away from the club. After spending the first half of the season on loan at Fiorentina and the second at Valencia, Cutrone is to join Empoli on loan for the 2021/22 season according to Fabrizio Romano. The news all but confirms that Cutrone will not be in the plans for new Wolves manager, Bruno Lage. The Italian forward will be hoping for a successful loan spell this time around.
Patrick Cutrone to Join Empoli
Out of Favour at Wolves
Life has not been easy for Cutrone since making the move to the Midlands side in 2019 from AC Milan. In 63 league appearances for Milan, he scored 13 times and looked to have a bright future ahead of him. After falling out of favour with former Wolves coach Nuno Espírito Santo, Cutrone was sent out on an 18-month-loan to Fiorentina in January 2020.
Cutrone scored four times in 19 games for Fiorentina in the 2019/20 Serie A season. However, last season he made 18 appearances across Fiorentina and Valencia, failing to score once. At the latter of the two sides, he looked a shell of his former self and clearly lacked confidence. Cutrone will be hopeful of getting good performances under his belt at Empoli. Gli Azzurri gained promotion to the Serie A last season.
A Fresh Start for Cutrone
This latest loan spell will give Cutrone the chance to play himself into form. As Empoli are Serie A ‘newboys’, they will be reliant on goals. Cutrone will have to be clinical in front of goal if the side are to stay up and have a successful return to the league. If he is to get his chance at Wolves in 2022, success at Empoli will be crucial.
Still, at 23 years of age, Cutrone will be optimistic that his best years are ahead of him. Ability-wise, he has all the raw components needed to succeed as a striker: strength, height and intelligence. The latter detail gave him so much success at AC Milan, his positioning made him a lethal front-man and he will be looking to showcase this know-how around the box at Empoli. With Patrick Cutrone joining Empoli on loan, it could be the start of a clean slate for the Italian.
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