Can Wolves Cope Without Cunha?
Wolves face an injury scare over Matheus Cunha, who has become their talisman under Gary O'Neil.
Last August, Wolverhampton Wanderers were at a crossroads. So too was Matheus Cunha.
With Wolves forced to cut their cloth after sailing close to the wind concerning the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules, an estimated £144million was raised through the sales of players including Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes, Nathan Collins, Conor Coady and Raul Jimenez.
The era of the Fosun Galaticos was over. Also at an end was Julen Lopetegui's reign, with the Spaniard prompting predictions of doom and gloom at Molineux when he walked out on the eve of the season, claiming Wolves' squad was not up to the task of competing in the Premier League.
Gary O'Neil's appointment initially underwhelmed many – including this writer – and questions abounded as to how Wolves' remaining big names would respond to the chaos around them.
It would have been easy for Cunha, the last of Fosun's big-money purchases, to hide in such an environment.
Instead, the Brazilian has earned a place as a true fans' favourite by combining his undoubted ability with a newfound tactical intelligence, a series of talismanic displays culminating in a recent hat-trick against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
On the back of his best performance for Wolves, Cunha then limped out of Saturday's meek 2-0 defeat to Brentford with a hamstring issue, and it was confirmed on Wednesday that he was set for a “significant” spell on the sidelines.
Here, More Than A Game looks at how Cunha has embodied the best of O'Neil's work at Molineux, asking how Wolves can cope if he endures a stint on the sidelines.
LOPETEGUI'S MAN
Cunha's arrival at Wolves – an initial loan deal containing an obligation to purchase the Brazilian if he featured in a handful of games – was announced on Christmas Eve 2022 in advance of the January window. It was obvious from the get-go that this was a signing pushed by Lopetegui.
Sporting director Matt Hobbs confirmed as much when the move was finalised, saying: "When a manager comes in and is so strong, with so much belief in a player, it's important to ensure the deal gets done to show the manager that the club is behind him."
But for someone so desperate to get his man, Lopetegui seemed to struggle somewhat with the best way of using Cunha.
Lopetegui described Cunha as a "complete forward" upon his arrival and initially fielded him as a number nine, though he eventually came to favour using the Brazilian behind a more physically imposing forward, such as Diego Costa or Jimenez, in a 4-4-1-1 system.
To say Cunha needed time to adapt would be a fair assessment. Two goals and no assists in 17 Premier League games last term did not represent an acceptable return on Wolves' sizeable investment.
The fact those goals came in chastening defeats to Leeds United and Leicester City – the eventual losers of a manic relegation battle – hardly helped Cunha's attempts to make an impression.
In simple terms, Wolves struggled to involve Cunha, who averaged just 25.4 touches, 1.5 successful dribbles, 1.5 shots and 0.4 key passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, according to Sofascore.
Cunha's Sofascore heatmap illustrates this clearly. In a side set up to grind out results, whose total of 31 Premier League goals was five fewer than Manchester City's Erling Haaland managed in 2022-23, Cunha spent long periods roaming unthreatening areas just to get on the ball.
According to FBref, among all forwards in the Premier League last season, Cunha ranked in just the 11th percentile for non-penalty expected goals (0.19 xG) per 90 minutes, ninth for progressive passes received (4.01) and 35th for shot-creating actions (1.96). Not exactly figures worthy of Lopetegui's “complete forward” tag.
Cunha's technical quality was never in question, though, and he did show glimpses of his devastating potential, including when he strode forward to put Wolves ahead in April's aforementioned 2-1 defeat at Leicester.
Getting consistent returns out of him has arguably been the greatest success of Lopetegui's successor.
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