Ruben Amorim has had a turbulent start to life as Manchester United boss but if he can solve the Matheus Cunha conundrum it may change everything for him at Old Trafford.
Mail Sport revealed on Monday that United are inching closer to an agreement with the Wolves forward, though they would still have to activate his £62.5million release clause. Cunha has also had interest from Newcastle but looks to have been swayed by the prospect of playing a key role in Amorim’s rebuilding process.
And that is the key thing with Cunha. To bring the best out of the Brazilian, a coach has to place him at the heart of his project and Cunha’s numbers make it tempting.
The flipside is his erratic defensive contribution and unpredictable temperament. Clubs must decide whether the good outweighs the bad and £62.5m is a great deal of money with which to gamble.
First, the plus points. Cunha was directly involved in 19 of Wolves’ 50 Premier League goals last season – with 12 goals and seven assists – and has 14 goals and four assists this term, from a team total of 48.
Those who have worked with the 25-year-old regard him as one of the most talented players they have seen, a quick, skilful attacker who glides across the pitch and can pass and shoot with either foot.
Manchester United are edging closer to an agreement with Wolves forward Matheus Cunha
The Red Devils got a close look at the Brazilian star during Wolves’ recent trip to Old Trafford
Cunha is keen on the prospect of playing a key role in Ruben Amorim’s rebuilding process
He averages more than three shots per game and creates more than four shooting chances per 90 minutes – excellent statistics, especially for a side who have struggled for large parts of the last two seasons.
When he is in form, Cunha is the sort of player who is worth the price of a ticket. In an age of ultra-complex tactical structures, he is a throwback. Cunha can beat opponents with ease and send social media wild with his tricks. It is no surprise that he idolised Ronaldinho and is still delighted when he receives a WhatsApp message from his hero.
Like Ronaldinho, Cunha plays on instinct and can conjure moments many players could not deliver if they tried 100 times. And like the former Barcelona great, Cunha can be a liability when his team do not have the ball.
Former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil worked tirelessly with Cunha on improving his all-round game. He would hold detailed meetings with his star forward, explaining Wolves’ pressing structures and how every player must perform a specific task to ensure the plan did not fall apart.
For a while, O’Neil’s message was received. At times, Cunha could be challenging to manage during training sessions and would become frustrated when less talented team-mates made mistakes. A sensitive soul, Cunha can take criticism incredibly personally – not easy for a coach who is simply trying to encourage a natural soloist to be part of an orchestra.
Yet in 53 games under O’Neil, Cunha produced 22 goals and 12 assists and the run of three wins in 26 league games that cost O’Neil his job can hardly be blamed on the attacker.
Whoever signs Cunha must be convinced, though, that he can iron out the kinks that stop a very good player becoming an outstanding one.
Sadly for romantics, there is little scope for mavericks in modern football. Though Jack Grealish has won the lot at Manchester City, he has never been given the licence to express himself that he was at Aston Villa.
When he is in form, Cunha is the sort of throwback player who is worth the price of a ticket
The Wolves star idolised Ronaldinho and, similarly to the Brazilian legend, plays on instinct
Nearly every top Premier League attacker nowadays is required to be as effective without the ball as he is with it. If exceptions can be made for Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland, it is because they have produced 93 goals and 36 assists between them in less than two seasons.
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira criticised Cunha’s ‘body language’ in the 3-1 defeat at Chelsea in January and he has served two suspensions this season. The first resulted from an altercation with an Ipswich staff member, in which he grabbed the man’s glasses, after a 2-1 home defeat at Molineux last December – O’Neil’s final game in charge.
Cunha was banned for two matches and fined £80,000, reduced from a recommended £120,000 after he offered to pay for new glasses for the security official.
Then there was the red card in the FA Cup fifth round tie at Bournemouth in March, when Cunha lost his rag completely, appearing to aim a head-butt at Cherries defender Milos Kerkez and then having to be escorted down the tunnel.
Throw in the outspoken social media posts and testy exchanges with fans on those platforms and you have quite a rap sheet.
A kinder reading is that Cunha sometimes acts as impulsively off the pitch as he does on it. His football intelligence is mirrored in other areas, too: as well as Portuguese – his first language – Cunha speaks English, Spanish and German.
Cunha’s temperament has been criticised after receiving two suspensions in the season
Cunha received a four-match ban for punching and head-butting Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez
Cunha’s father, Carmelo, is a chemistry teacher and had the Wolves star not become a footballer, he may have moved into civil engineering.
He is part of a close-knit family and feels strongly the pull of his home city, the coastal city of Joao Pessoa in north-east Brazil. He has spoken movingly about the decline in his mental health after he was left out of Brazil’s squad for the 2022 World Cup.
Although Cunha might not be the right fit for clubs like Manchester City or Liverpool, he could be ideal for United. In the best-case scenario, Cunha would take some of the creative pressure from Bruno Fernandes and form a productive understanding with United’s main man.
Where other players might crumble under the pressure of playing for a football giant, Cunha thrives on being centre stage. Whether at Old Trafford or elsewhere, he has the talent to shine in football’s greatest arenas. On balance, Cunha deserves the chance to show it. The rest is up to him.
