Patrick Cutrone

Patrick Cutrone (born 3 January 1998) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Como.

Cutrone was born in Como and began to play football at a young age.

In 2005, the 7-year old Cutrone started his youth career at the local team GS Parediense.

In the summer of 2007, he had trials at Internazionale, Monza, and AC Milan.

On 29 June 2007 he officially joined Milan's academy, where he spent the following ten years, playing through the different age groups up to the Primavera (under-19) team.

In March 2015, Cutrone signed his first professional contract with Milan, effective from 1 July 2015 until 30 June 2018.

On 15 August, Cutrone made his full debut for Wolves in a 4–0 home win against FC Pyunik in the 2nd Leg of the UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round.

Cutrone made his full Premier League debut for Wolves in a 3–2 away defeat to Everton on 1 September.

His first goal for Wolves came on 14 September, in a 2–5 home loss to Chelsea in the Premier League.

Cutrone received his first ever call-up to the senior team for a home game against Pescara played on 30 October 2016; he was an unused substitute.

In January 2017, Cutrone was promoted to Milan's first team.

On 21 May 2017, he made his senior debut in the 3–0 Serie A home win against Bologna, coming on as a substitute for Gerard Deulofeu at the 85th minute.

In the summer of 2017, Cutrone signed a contract extension until 30 June 2021, while Milan's Chinese-led board of directors spent over €200 million on transfers, acquiring a total of 11 new players, two of which were strikers André Silva and Nikola Kalinić.

Initially, in order to increase his playing time, Cutrone had been persuaded to join one of the lower-ranking Serie A clubs yet refused.

On 27 July 2017, he was featured in the starting line-up for the first time in a 1–0 away victory over Romanian side Universitatea Craiova in the 2017–18 Europa League qualification.

On 3 August, he scored his first goal for Milan in the return match of the same tie, which finished 2–0 for his team.

On 20 August, he scored his first Serie A goal in a 0–3 Serie A away win against Crotone.

On 24 August, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away victory over Shkëndija in Europa League playoffs, and on 28 September, he scored a last-minute winning goal against Rijeka in the group stage to win the match 3–2 for Milan.

Coming on as a substitute in the Coppa Italia match against local rivals, Internazionale, Cutrone scored the winner and his first goal in the Derby della Madonnina.

On 28 January 2018, Cutrone scored an opening goal in the home Serie A game against Lazio.

Initially, the goal was thought to be a header by the referee and Lazio players alike.

However, after the final whistle, it became clear that following a free kick taken by Hakan Çalhanoğlu, the ball instead deflected off his arm straight into the goal.

Although it was reported that Cutrone may possibly get a two-match ban for an alleged deliberate handball, an investigation conducted by governing body the FIGC proved that his actions in that episode were unintentional and, therefore, non-punishable.

On 10 February 2018, Cutrone scored a brace in a 4–0 away victory over SPAL.

In the summer of 2018, Milan's new board of directors decided to increase the team's attacking capability with the signing of a high-profile goalscorer, Gonzalo Higuaín, whom Cutrone first met in 2015 as a fan.

Following his arrival, out of all the remaining strikers in the team (namely Nikola Kalinić, André Silva, and Carlos Bacca), Cutrone was the only one to have not been placed on the transfer market.

On 31 August 2018, Cutrone came on as a late substitute and scored a last-minute match-winning goal in a 2018–19 Serie A home game against Roma (2–1), helping Milan secure the very first competitive victory in the season.

In October 2018, Cutrone extended his contract with Milan until 30 June 2023.

On 12 January 2019, Cutrone came on as an extra-time substitute and scored two first-touch goals within just six minutes in an eventual Coppa Italia 2–0 away win against Sampdoria.

In the same month, the club opted for an early termination of Gonzalo Higuaín's loan and bought Krzysztof Piątek as a first-choice striker, whose role on the pitch and style of play were considered "too similar" with those of Cutrone.

The team's head coach, Gennaro Gattuso, also refused to pair strikers for tactical reasons and preferred 4–3–3 as his regular starting formation.

As a result, Cutrone's playing time and quality of performances continued to decrease, with the player failing to score or assist in his 18 consecutive appearances, mostly as a super-sub.

As Milan once again failed to qualify for the Champions League, Gattuso resigned and was replaced by Marco Giampaolo.

Despite Giampaolo favoring 4–3–1–2 over any other formation, Cutrone's opportunities at Milan were still considered limited as the new coach sought to pair Piątek with a different type of an attacking partner than him.

On 30 July 2019, Cutrone joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a four-year contract.

Cutrone made his league debut for Wolves as a substitute in their opening Premier League fixture of the 2019–20 season, a 0–0 away draw with Leicester City on 11 August, having made his debut appearance (also as a substitute) in the club's 2019–20 UEFA Europa League match away to FC Pyunik of Armenia three days earlier.

In a 2–0 home success against West Ham United on 4 December 2019, Cutrone scored having only been on the pitch for two minutes as an 84th minute substitute.

On 10 January 2020, Cutrone left Wolves to join Fiorentina on an 18-month loan deal, which included an option for the Italian club to buy the player.

On 7 January 2021, Cutrone returned to Wolverhampton Wanderers after just under a year out on loan at Fiorentina, wearing the number 23 shirt, representing his age at the time of return.

His first appearance for Wolves in the 2020–21 season was as a second-half substitute in Wolves's 1–0 home victory over Crystal Palace in a FA Cup 3rd round tie on 8 January 2021.