Isn’t the Premier League just bonkers?
The January transfer window hasn’t even opened yet and the relegation-threatened Wolves, who appointed Europa League winner Julen Lopetegui as manager before the World Cup break, have made the first big splash of the winter.
Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha has joined the club from Atletico Madrid on an initial loan deal, but Wolves have an obligation to buy the 23-year-old outright for a fee that could rise to £35m at the end of the season.
Lopetegui desperately needs attacking reinforcements this winter with Wolves currently reliant on an exfoliating Diego Costa to lead their line. Raul Jimenez and Hwang Hee-chan have been woefully out of sorts for quite some time, while summer arrival Sasa Kalajdzic has barely featured after tearing his ACL in September.
Saviour might be too strong of a word, but Cunha is an enigmatic talent who could spearhead Wolves’ resurgence under Lopetegui despite enduring a difficult spell in La Liga. Here’s what Wolves supporters can expect from their new signing.
Wolves were a dire watch under Bruno Lage during the first half of the season as they scored just eight times in their opening 15 Premier League encounters.
While the west Midlanders possess an array of crafty playmakers and wingers, they’ve been bereft of a reliable scorer since Jimenez cracked his skull against Arsenal in November 2020. The Mexican scored 30 Premier League goals during his first two seasons in the top flight, but he scored just six times in 34 appearances last season and he’s yet to find the back of the net in 2022/23.
Wolves desperately need a goalscorer but, unfortunately, Cunha isn’t that. The Brazilian’s most prolific league season arrived in 2020/21 with Hertha Berlin as he scored seven times in 27 Bundesliga appearances.
Cunha scored at a decent rate during his first season at Atletico, averaging a goal every 177 La Liga minutes, but he only bagged six times as his opportunities under Diego Simeone were limited. Either way, the 23-year-old is yet to prove his capacity to score bundles of goals at the highest level, and this should concern Wolves supporters.
Don’t worry, there’s even more to be worried about in regards to Cunha’s competence as a goalscorer!
According to FBRef, Cunha has outperformed his expected goals tally in just one season at a senior level. This came with Hertha in 2019/20 as he scored five Bundesliga goals from an xG of 3.3.
Outside of that, though, the Brazilian has underperformed in…
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