Man Utd are on the verge of securing their first summer signing, but is he what they need?
Man Utd will sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves this summer by paying his release clause of €75 million (£62.5 million) according to Raisa Simplicio for GOAL Brasil.
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Which brings us to the key question; is Matheus Cunha the man for Man Utd?
On the face of it, the Brazilian fits into Ruben Amorim’s system as one of the two attacking midfielders quite perfectly, having thrived in the same system for Wolves.
And of course, Matheus Cunha is a proven Premier League goalscorer, which is an underrated ability as Man Utd have found out to their detriment this season, scoring just 38 times in their 33 matches so far.
Matheus Cunha is the man
Meanwhile Matheus Cunha has scored 14 times for Wolves in the English top flight, having notched 12 times last season. Across all competitions he has 32 goals in 87 games for Wolves, which is a genuinely impressive return.
No stage has proven too big for Cunha, who has goals against perennial table-toppers Liverpool and Arsenal to his name. And again, all for Wolves, who are far from a good Premier League side right now.
He can create goals too, but perhaps his ability to drive and dribble with the ball is the attribute that most enchants Ruben Amorim.
Man Utd are a horrendously static team, only Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho have the ability and confidence to dribble their opponents with any regularity (Dorgu has the skill but doesn’t yet appear to be confident enough) but both men are slight figures and Garnacho has legendary issues with his decision-making too.
This makes Man Utd easy to defend against as a static low block should make passing lanes hard to find and then you don’t have to worry about them breaking your rest defence apart with anything inventive on the ball as no one can really do it except Amad.
Cunha would add a second player capable of shattering a low block with his movement on the ball, and unlike Amad Diallo he is also quite a physically rugged player so can ride through contact.
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Incidentally, Man Utd’s other rumoured transfer target Liam Delap is also a player in this mould, so you can see the archetype and skill-set Ruben Amorim and sporting director Jason Wilcox are chasing to construct their side; big lads who can run through contact.
Matheus Cunha’s big weakness
There is one thing that should concern for Man Utd, however, and it’s not Cunha’s pricetag (expensive, but par for the course when making inter-league signings).
Matheus Cunha is a “walker.”
In 2024/25, Cunha has spent a league-high 77.6% of his Premier League minutes walking. That is the most among all outfielders who have played more than 200 minutes, according to Opta.
The top five of that list contains three centre-backs and the legendarily one-dimensional Adama Traore is a concern. That Cunha tops the list is even more of one.
Obviously the most famous “walker” in football is Lionel Messi, who is now legendary for strolling around the pitch when his team is both in and out of possession.
Messi’s walking is a combination of him resting on defensive plays so as to conserve his energy, but also trying to find space on the pitch. Watching where the opponents are moving and where space is or may open up, then bursting to life when it does.
This means all his teams have to adjust for his walking, especially defensively, which they are fine to do of course because he’s Lionel Messi, the greatest of all-time.
Matheus Cunha is not the greatest of all-time, however. And indulging Cunha’s walking could go some way to explain why Wolves are 15th, level on points with Man Utd who are having an absolutely atrocious Premier League season.
It’s unlikely that Ruben Amorim would tolerate Matheus Cunha walking around the pitch in a United shirt. Perhaps a little, when his side are in possession, but not 77.6% of his time on the pitch! That’s an obscene amount that only a big fish in a small pond could get away with.
So what happens when that fish moves to a big pond? Can he still be as prolific now he can’t spend more than three-quarters of his time on the pitch walking?
His earlier career at Atletico Madrid (where he scored 7 goals in 54 games), Hertha BSC (13 in 40) or RB Leipzig (9 in 52) seem to indicate otherwise.
This has to be the big concern for Ruben Amorim and Man Utd as they integrate Matheus Cunha into the side.
They are getting an excellent player who seemingly fits them perfectly, but he has one weakness that could nullify all of his strengths.
Can Man Utd get Matheus Cunha to help them make a run at winning silveware? Or will Matheus Cunha walk them off a cliff even further into footballing and financial crisis?
Your answer will depend on how much you believe in Ruben Amorim.
FootballTransfers always chooses optimism, so believe in Cunha and Amorim’s ability to thrive.
