Express & Star

Wolves' Italian striker Patrick Cutrone can't wait for Torino tie

He may have a prolific record in the Europa League, but Patrick Cutrone will have to break a duck if he’s to score tonight – and net his first goal against Torino.

Published
Last updated
Patrick Cutrone (© AMA / Matthew Ashton)

The Italian striker faced tonight’s opponents four times in his short-lived Milan career. He failed to find the target each time – and Milan didn’t win a single match.

That’s in contract to hos Europa League record for the Italian giants, which saw him score eight times in 16 appearances.

Cutrone is well placed to give some inside knowledge on Torino – and he knows it won’t be easy tonight.

“Of course (it’s hard),” Cutrone said. “Torino are a good side; we know how good they are and they’ve got some excellent players.

“Nevertheless, so are we and it’ll definitely be a great game.

“Like for any other game; I am always ready and I can’t wait to play.

“I’m facing Torino, who are a good side.

“We know all about their qualities, so it will be even sweeter playing against them, especially in Italy but also at home as well.”

Cutrone joined Wolves in an initial £16million deal from Milan in the summer.

So far he’s made three substitute appearances and also started last Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League win over Pyunik at Molineux.

The 21-year-old said Europa League football was one of the seasons he moved to Wolves.

“Well, yes, it was a factor, but more than anything else, again, it was about playing in the Premier League for a big club like this,” he added.

“There were many factors that went into my decision.

“The (Premier League and Europa League) are different, in the sense that in the Premier League, every team is playing for something.

“That’s one of its positives; there are also so many strong players.

“It’s always nice to play against these types of players. But the Europa League is also competitive.”

Cutrone seems to have settled in well at his new club.

He revealed that he and fellow new signing Jesus Vallejo are integrating themselves in the squad together.

“I get on well with everybody in the team, they’ve all given me a great welcome,” he added. “I’m doing good, I’m learning English pretty well. I could get by already, but now I need to learn how to speak it really well.

“As for everything else, I’m spending a lot of time with Jesus Vallejo. We arrived at the same time and we’ve been giving each other a hand from the start.

“But obviously, everyone is the team has been helping us out.

“(Nuno) made a good impression on me, even bearing in mind I’ve only been here for three weeks.

“We’ve spoken and we both know that everything is new for me here. The league is different to Italy, so I need to adapt."