Wolverhampton Wanderers have recalled striker Patrick Cutrone from a loan spell at Fiorentina.

The Italian international, who turned 23 last Sunday, joined la Viola on an 18-month loan in January last year, which originally included an obligation to buy. 

Cutrone scored three goals in his first spell at the club in the first half of last season. 

  • Why has Cutrone been recalled?

Having been particularly vocal in his criticism of Nuno Espirito Santo upon his Molineux departure, it's perhaps surprising that the Italian finds himself in the first team picture again.

Cutrone described Nuno as 'a manager who preferred to rely on his loyalists', so many assumed his Wolves career was over.

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However, when a lack of playing time in Florence led to his obligation to buy clause being removed from his contract by his agent last month, a return to Wolves seemed on the cards. 

Given the current injury crisis in attack at Molineux, it seems a given that Cutrone will get much more of an opportunity second time around. 

Speaking about the striker's recall, Nuno said: "We believe [he] can bring competition to the squad and help us."

  • Cutrone's Wolves career so far

Following his July 2019 signing from AC Milan for a fee of around £20m, Cutrone was Wolves' marquee arrival ahead of the 2019/20 campaign. 

However, things just didn't go to plan for the Italian first time around. After a poor run of form led to a tactical shift from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3, Cutrone found himself third in line behind Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota, and was given just 13 minutes of Premier League action between mid-October and his departure in January. 

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Despite the lack of playing time, Cutrone still managed to score three goals in gold and black, coming against Chelsea and West Ham in the Premier League and Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup

  • How will he do?

In short, Cutrone has three weeks and five games to save his Wolves career. 

Despite bringing him back, Nuno refused to rule out selling the Italian before the January deadline in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference. 

One change from Cutrone's first spell will be that he is now Wolves' first-choice striker. Jimenez is injured, Jota is gone and new boy Fabio Silva has often struggled since replacing Jimenez in December. 

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If Cutrone fails to impress, Wolves will sign a striker and loan him out again. If he takes the opportunity, especially with the Black Country derby coming up next weekend, the most unlikely comeback could be complete. 

With Cutrone's decent performances in limited games last time around, he should be able to solve Wolves' attacking problems.