With exclusive insight from Gary O’Neil, Adam Bate assesses Matheus Cunha’s fine form for Wolves and the challenge of getting the best from a unique player. Watch Wolves vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports Premier League this Christmas Eve from 12.30pm; kick-off 1pm
Friday 22 December 2023 14:31, UK
Matheus Cunha arrived at Wolves in January for a club-record £43m fee. He contributed to keeping the club in the Premier League but the hope was that there was more to come. The Brazilian forward is beginning to deliver on that promise.
With five goals and three assists so far this Premier League season, Cunha has impressed in a Wolves team that has exceeded modest expectations. He was the man who set the tone on the opening weekend with an eye-catching performance at Old Trafford.
A run of either scoring or assisting in five consecutive games came to an end at West Ham. But Cunha somehow has a way of leaving supporters thinking much more is possible. Perhaps because this is a player with almost every key attribute - pace, power and skill.
He ranks fourth in the Premier League for shots on target, with only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Heung-Min Son testing the goalkeeper more. Salah and Son are also the only forwards to complete more through balls this season than Cunha.
Only Jeremy Doku has completed more dribbles, just two players have had more shots on the counter-attack, while only three have scored more headers. It is such an unusual profile for a player that it is easy to be seduced by Cunha's vast potential.
Some were surprised he even came to Wolves. He is still in the Brazil squad, having won an Olympic gold medal for his country in 2021. A reputation for the spectacular was cemented when nominated for the 2019 Puskas Award following a stunning solo goal for RB Leipzig.
That he plays for a bottom-half Premier League side suggests that he has not yet put the components together. "It is true that he has not scored a lot of goals," former boss Julen Lopetegui once said. "But it is true also that he is able to score a lot of goals."
That is the challenge now facing Lopetegui's successor at Molineux, Gary O'Neil. The new man quickly recognised the need to forge a good relationship with the star. "He is a lot more than a manager," said Cunha of O'Neil recently. "I think he is an incredible person."
As for O'Neil, he revealed on Monday Night Football earlier this season that he has some "fascinating conversations" with Cunha. But what do those conversations involve? Speaking to O'Neil at the club's training ground, he was able to elaborate on the relationship.
"Matheus Cunha is an incredible guy with a big heart who wants to do his best for the team," he tells Sky Sports. "If you look at his work rate and the numbers he produces, he works his socks off. It is just then me trying to get him to direct that in the right way."
Wolves had a goalscoring problem when O'Neil arrived, the lowest scorers in the Premier League last season. Cunha represents that conundrum in microcosm. He is a gifted player who does some of his best work outside the box. But his team needs him there too.
"When you are a No 9, which he has had to be at times this season, we need you to do this and this, but every time the ball is crossed I need my No 9 to be a threat. You have to be. OK, Matheus Cunha does this and this really well but he has to do this. You have to."
O'Neil switches between the first, second and third person in his answer, appearing to channel some of the chats that he has had with Cunha. It is all about encouraging him to "get the numbers where people recognise what he is doing" for this Wolves team.
"People actually watching the game will see that he came off the front, did a little turn, popped it to the winger. Great. But how many goals has he got? How many assists has he got? I am trying to work with him on that, which he takes exceptionally well."
For O'Neil, the template is Erling Haaland.
"If you use Haaland as the best example, he can go minutes without touching the ball but he is constantly making runs, constantly threatening the back line, making space for others, and you know that as soon as the ball comes across he is going to be sliding it in."
Cunha is a very different type of player and his manager knows that. "You need to understand where he is at the moment and what he can best do for the team. That is on me to maximise what he is. We are not there yet but I am sure we will get there," he says.
"As you would expect, it is a few steps forward, one back, then another reminder. But you just have to appreciate the quality and what he can bring as well. He obviously has some fantastic individual attributes that can unlock things and get you up the pitch."
Those marauding runs from deep are one of the best features of his game, after all. Cunha's ability to drop into areas where he is not picked up can be an asset. Against Tottenham, his assist from the equaliser came while stood near the touchline in front of O'Neil.
Some of the subtleties of his deployment might be missed. "We have used him in different positions," O'Neil explains. "We have played him left 10, right 10 a couple of times, 9 a lot, 9 staying up, 9 dropping down. So he has been used in different situations."
Does O'Neil accept that allowing Cunha to roam suits him best? "At this moment, he is probably best as one of the support strikers rather than the main No 9 who needs to stretch the line and be that guy who is always a goal threat. Because he wants to do more."
That is the ongoing challenge. Perhaps the difference between decorating games and deciding them. But with more goals in his last nine Premier League appearances than his previous 25, perhaps Wolves are finding the right balance with Cunha.
O'Neil is "conscious that you cannot just keep bombarding them with detail" but the temptation when it comes to the club's record signing is sometimes too great to ignore. He is acutely aware that if Cunha's full potential can be unlocked, it could transform the team.
Not everyone receives the same type of attention, he admits. "I feel there is room for me to help him, whereas some of the other guys who are really good tactically and need to improve other sides, I don't feel like it is me who can improve them as much," he explains.
"Whereas, I just feel if I can get Cunha in the right spot, I get him understanding this and that, together with what he already brings, we can get a real rise in what he produces." He is already a special player. With Matheus Cunha, there is always the potential for more.
