After the most disappointing season in history, Man United quickly embarked on a restructuring of the team. To overcome the weaknesses, the first new player they brought in under coach Ruben Amorim was Matheus Cunha, Wolverhampton's main striker.
Cunha is considered quite suitable for coach Amorim's tactical perspective.
With his versatile and dynamic playing style, Cunha is considered quite suitable for Amorim's 3-4-3 formation. After two impressive seasons in the Premier League, the Brazilian player has not only proven his ability to score goals but also demonstrated his ability in many other aspects.
Who is Matheus Cunha?
The 26-year-old has 13 international caps for Brazil, and at club level has made 270 appearances and scored 72 goals in top flight football in England, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.
The 2024-25 season marked a huge step forward for Cunha. He scored 15 Premier League goals – a career-best in a single season – and added six assists. With 21 goal contributions, Cunha was clearly performing much better than the previous season (19).
Cunha also ranks in the top 10 Premier League players for team goal involvement, 27.8% (9th), and goal or assist rate, 38.9% (also 9th). From an unremarkable loan deal in early 2023 (just 1 goal and 2 assists in 17 games), Cunha has become an indispensable factor at Molineux.
Cunha is a versatile player.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Cunha has had 39 goal involvements (excluding penalties) in 65 games, just seven fewer than any other player in the top flight, unlike Wolves who have often struggled against relegation. He has also outperformed every other Wolves player in the same period.
Cunha has also had 183 shots (82 on target) in the last two seasons – the most in the team and accounting for 21.3% of Wolves’ total. He has also scored five goals from outside the box, bettered by only six other Premier League players in that stat.
Exceeding expectations – but is it sustainable?
In 2024-25, Cunha scored 15 goals, almost twice as many as the average player with similar opportunities. In total, he exceeded the expected goals (xG) mark by +8.7 in two seasons – only Phil Foden (+10.5) can beat him. However, maintaining the ability to exceed the xG standard for multiple consecutive seasons is extremely difficult – usually only world- class strikers like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski or Erling Haaland can do it consistently.
Cunha may be at his peak, and if he doesn't improve on the quality of his chances rather than relying on his sharpness, his goalscoring form could decline in the future.
Tactical Weapon: Dribbling and Making Changes
Not only a goalscorer, Cunha also stands out for his ability to dribble, carry the ball and create breakthroughs from individual moves. He is among 15 players in the Premier League to have made at least 55 dribbles and created 38 shots from dribbles since the start of the 2023/24 season. In addition, he has also directly participated in 12 goals from such situations - a very impressive statistic.
Contribute to Wolverhampton 2024-2025 season
Wolves’ counter-attacking style of play over the past two seasons has suited Cunha well – he averaged 8.8m of progressive movement per dribble last season. Only Anthony Elanga and Chiedozie Ogbene have done better in terms of average dribble distance.
Cunha’s individual ball-handling ability also helps him to press and recover the ball effectively. He has made 290 pressures since the start of the 2023/24 season – behind only Jeremy Doku and Mohammed Kudus, and is in the top four for most pressures in the opposition half (213).
Disciplinary Record: A Few Question Marks
However, Cunha’s fiery style of play has also led to problems. In the 2024-2025 season, he received two red cards and missed six games due to incidents against Ipswich and Bournemouth. Still, one red card and 14 yellow cards throughout the season – not alarming, especially when compared to the most booked players like Caicedo or Alvarez.
In fact, Cunha has rarely had disciplinary issues in his career. The 2020/21 season at Hertha was the last time he racked up more than five yellow cards, so this past season may have been an exception.
How would Cunha fit in at Man United?
One of the reasons why United are targeting Cunha is the tactical fit. Both Gary O'Neil and Wolves manager Vitor Pereira deploy a 3-4-2-1 formation – similar to Amorim's preferred system – with Cunha often playing in the left-sided No. 10 role – where he played 61% of the time last season.
In possession, Wolves switched to a 3-3-2-2, with Cunha playing as one of the two strikers but willing to drop back to support the midfield. Amorim used a similar structure for much of his time at Sporting Lisbon, and has brought this system to Man United.
Cunha’s versatility, off-the-ball movement, combination play and dribbling could be key to Amorim’s new style of play. With players such as Alejandro Garnacho reportedly struggling to adapt to the left-sided No. 10 role, Cunha’s presence offers a more obvious solution.
Cunha is a suitable addition for Man United in the restructuring phase
Despite some question marks over his consistency in scoring and his disciplinary record, Matheus Cunha is a potential signing for United. He is not only an efficient goalscorer but also a complete player who can contribute in many tactical aspects. Under Ruben Amorim – a manager who values flexibility and tactical discipline – Cunha could be the catalyst for the Red Devils’ transformation.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/matheus-cunha-manh-ghep-moi-phu-hop-tai-man-united-196250602110007986.htm
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