Wolves are expected to be in the market for a Matheus Cunha replacement this summer
Matheus Cunha’s big-money move to Manchester United has left Wolverhampton Wanderers in a difficult position heading into the new season.
Not only have the Old Gold lost their highest scoring player for their last two seasons with 27 combined across both seasons, but they’ve also lost their brightest creative spark with the Brazilian registering 13 league assists since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
Cunha almost single handedly kept Wolves in games at times last term, particularly in the early months of the campaign when the team was leaking goals, and is right up there with the best individual talents to have played at Molineux in the last decade.
His departure leaves the club with a creative void in the position behind leading striker Jorgen Strand-Larsen, and though Wolves have some very able athletes and enforcers in the middle of the park in Andre and Joao Gomes, its fair to say they lack a real technician to provide the creative spark that the Norwegian striker will need to thrive in his second campaign.
Why Harvey Elliott is likely to leave Liverpool this summer
The form of Liverpool playmaker Harvey Elliott has arguably been the best feel good story of the Under-21 European Championships so far from an England perspective.The 22-year-old is a top contender for the Player of the Tournament award in Slovakia after scoring four goals in five matches for Lee Carsley’s talented young team.
He has stepped up to the plate for an England team that have played most of their matches without a recognised No.9 with perhaps the exception of Birmingham’s Jay Stansfield, who has featured sporadically throughout the tournament.
Elliott has always been viewed as a talent, he’s played 147 times for Liverpool across all competitions since signing from Fulham and has proven himself to be more than capable of playing in the top-flight since returning from his successful loan spell at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.
His numbers of 15 goals and 20 assists for Liverpool across all competitions in many ways do him a disservice due to the number of substitute appearances he has made, and his lack of opportunities to start in the real important matches for the Reds. However, he’s shown glimpses of his potential when featuring for Liverpool, most notably in Jurgen Klopp’s last season when he got four goals and 14 assists in 54 appearances across all competitions.
But last season was a much more frustrating one for the young playmaker, with him making just 28 appearances across all competitions and being restricted to just two league starts, both of which came when the title was already decided as a second string team was fielded.
Elliott is capable of playing as both as right winger and a central attacking midfielder, showing great versatility, but in some ways has been a victim of his own flexibility, failing to find a regular position in the team behind Mohamed Salah on the right or the tried and tested trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle.
And with Florian Wirtz joining the party next season for a Premier League record £116m, it seems increasingly unlikely that Elliott will be handed any further development opportunities to become a regular.
Elliott is known to be a boyhood Liverpool fan, but there is a growing feeling across the media that the midfielder may need to move on this summer to fulfil his full potential. As it stands, Brighton are thought to be the favourites to get the deal done. But could Elliott stylistically be the perfect fit for Wolves?
The perfect hijack Wolves should look to make on Brighton
Wolves are known to play with a 3-4-2-1 formation with a strong emphasis on attacking wing-backs while often operating with two central attacking midfielders.This worked perfectly for Matheus Cunha as it allowed him to express himself without the pressures of tracking back to defend while in equal measure operating in a deeper role to the striker that’d allow him to get on the ball and make things happen.
And it’s a golden opportunity the club should look to take advantage of as they aim to alleviate the threat of relegation and start to show the ambition needed to climb the league table.
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