Matheus Cunha is set to be one of the most talked-about players over the final hours of the 2025 January transfer window. And with good reason.
- Published before Cunha scored in Wolves' 2-0 win over Villa
If anything, we’re not talking about him enough.
The Wolves attacker is reportedly a firm target for Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, with the latter now emboldened to make a major move in the market after Jhon Duran’s £65 million move to Al-Nassr was rubber-stamped.
Cunha has the scoring ability, creativity and consistency to bolster hopes of European qualification for Forest and Villa, and his arrival at the Emirates could spark the Gunners’ title challenge back into life.
But such is his versatility, pressing diligence and evident tactical intelligence, the 25-year-old Brazilian would be a sound fit for any deep-pocketed side with eyes on a Champions League place or a Premier League crown.
And there are few he wouldn’t seriously improve.
Chelsea, for example, are reportedly keen to splash a similar fee to what Cunha’s acquisition will cost any suitors – reportedly around £70 million – on Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, a player much less refined than the Wolves No.10.
United could do a lot worse than reinvesting any windfall from Garnacho’s potential sale in Cunha, too, with few better realistic options to sharpen Ruben Amorim’s blunt frontline.
And the task of saving Tottenham’s season would be much safer entrusted to a player of such proven Premier League pedigree, rather than their current top target, Bayern Munich’s 19-year-old Mathys Tel.
The same could also be true of Manchester City’s flagging title defence after they made a similar investment in a rising Bundesliga star with their £59 million signing of Omar Marmoush, who is the same age as Cunha.
Cunha arrived at Molineux from Atletico Madrid on loan in January 2023, with the switch made permanent the following summer in a pre-agreed £44 million deal.
And he came with something of a mercurial reputation.
With Atletico, he was a darling of the analytics observers, impressing with his per-90 productivity and ball-recovery numbers.
His expected goals (xG) per 90 average of 0.49 in his first La Liga season stood out, as did his expected assisted goals of 0.29, a figure that had held steady across a two-and-a-half year period in Spain and with Hertha Berlin before that.
But he was not always a regular starter in Madrid, nor did he occupy a defined, consistent role when he did get on the pitch. He could play as an inverted winger or a second striker.
But his assists output (six in 39 La Liga games) was hardly an elite-level return for a wide player, while his modest total of 10 goals over the same period didn’t seem enough to justify the price tag as a centre-forward.
In fact, prior to signing for Wolves, Cunha hadn’t scored 10 league goals in a season since his maiden campaign with Sion in the Swiss top flight as a teenager.
In Wolverhampton, though, Cunha has benefitted from a greater degree of regularity, both in terms of his starting opportunities and his role as the attacking focal point.
And despite Wolves having battled in the lower reaches of the Premier League table since he joined, the former RB Leipzig man has delivered a level of performance and output that have proven right all those keen-eyed analysts who saw immense untapped potential in him with Atletico.
In his first full season with Wolves, Cunha scored 12 goals and provided seven assists – both career-high returns. And this term, in 20 starts, he has hit double figures for goals once more, notching 10 times while also contributing another four assists.
His elevated status as the team’s pre-eminent star has not diminished the work rate that was such an attractive aspect of his skillset to begin with, either. Over the past year, according to fbref.
Cunha ranks in the 97th percentile among forwards in the top five European leagues for interceptions per 90 (0.55) and the 93rd percentile for tackles (1.28).
Plus, even if he is to be categorised as an attacking midfielder – he has played predominantly as one of two No.10s behind a central striker this term – his creativity stands out.
He ranks in the 86th percentile among attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League this season for passes into the final third per 90 (3.43), the 84th percentile for expected assisted goals (0.29) and the 84th percentile for take-ons that lead to a shot attempt (0.55).
Cunha has carried Wolves’ fight against the drop for two seasons now. And it appears the 11-cap Selecao star is now eying his next challenge, one that involves battling for position higher up the table.
"He can be frustrated as he wants to win, but everyone in the dressing room wants to win,” Wolves boss Vitor Pereira said of his star forward after a recent 3-1 loss to Chelsea, apparently disappointed at the player’s demeanour post-match.
"I don't like this body language. I want someone, as a captain, trying to help the team – running, suffering and fighting all together. But this is something I can understand. Next time, I won't understand.
"If we start complaining about this and that, this is not the way. He is committed to Wolves but when you keep hearing about other clubs, then it is human [to be distracted].
"But he needs to put his mind on his targets and increase his level after injury and help his team again with his quality. The team needs him with good energy and not with frustration. He must slow down and put his mind in the right way."
There are so few holes in Cunha’s game that – even valued at £70 million, which is his reported price tag for interested clubs – it’s no wonder he has so many suitors.
The only surprise is that there aren’t more.
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