Of all the transfer dealings across January, one of the least surprising was Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Patrick Cutrone moving to Valencia.
The Italian forward only returned to the club from a loan spell with Fiorentina at the beginning of the month, but it was apparent, even in the absence of Raul Jimenez, that he had no place at Molineux.
The arrival of Willian Jose from Real Sociedad only further demonstrated that fact and the move to Valencia did not surprise as a result.
Indeed, it was more unexpected that it was Valencia making a move at all, with their perilous financial situation meaning nobody expected any business from them this winter.
Super Deporte cover the incomings at Valencia today, with midfielder Christian Olivera and Ferro also having arrived alongside Cutrone.
They explain that the initial plan at the club was to sign a central defender and a midfielder, but Cutrone became a target because Cadiz made a move for Ruben Sobrino.
That opened up a space for a striker and they made their move, but, in order to complete the deal, Wolves had to agree to pay ‘part’ of his wages for the loan spell.
How much they’re covering isn’t mentioned, but we’ll assume it’s a fair chunk given the state of Valencia’s finances, and extreme cost-cutting Peter Lim has undertaken since the summer.
In itself, it doesn’t mean much, but it does go to show that whatever Cutrone was doing at Wolves clearly wasn’t impressive, so much so they were willing to pay to get him out of the club for six months rather than having him around, despite their issues upfront.
