Hey Chelsea, hands off Patrick Cutrone

Oh boy, even with a new contract, it appears the vultures are still circling around AC Milan’s Patrick Cutrone.

It might just be a throw-in name for a story from The Sun about Chelsea’s rumored interest in Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi, but it’s still a totally insane link. The article even mentions him in the same sentence as Eden Hazard, so is the author even aware that Cutrone is a striker and not a winger?

First, there is no way that Cutrone would head to Chelsea at this point in his career. Cutrone would likely have to go out on loan as he’s not ready to start in the Premier League, and there is a long list of young strikers who have headed to Chelsea and haven’t worn and will never wear a Chelsea shirt in a Premier League match.

Secondly, Cutrone would still not be a regular starter for Chelsea, even if Alvaro Morata leaves, as they still have Olivier Giroud and Pedro on the roster. Cutrone might be a future starter for both Milan and Italy, but he’s not going to unseat Giroud right now, and so why would Cutrone leave Milan for even less playing time? And why would Chelsea look to bring in someone to “replace” Morata with someone who isn’t going to take his place?

And finally, Cutrone bleeds Milan black and red. It’s true. I bet if he gets cut in the next match, rossonero blood will come out of his veins. He loves Milan, he loves playing at Milan, and he loves playing for Gennaro Gattuso. The relationship the two of them have is pretty special, and it is hard to see Cutrone walking away from all of that, especially after he’s just signed a new contract.

Milan aren’t in a position where they have to sell young players to raise cash to fund the team anymore, with the backing of Elliott Management, and Leonardo and Paolo Maldini aren’t the types that are going to give up on young talent either.

This has all the markings of a lazy rumor started by a journalist or agent picking a name of a high-profile young Italian forward to link with Chelsea because former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri is now in charge. This whole rumor is bad.