Can we discuss Matheus Cunha

[WalsallWolf]

Interesting one this for me, wouldn't mind getting a discussion going.

I was very excited when we signed Cunha. With Lopetegui clearly wanting him and describing him as "the complete number 9" or words to that effect, I thought we were finally going to get a forward who would contribute to goals and assists and most importantly, get in behind, drag defenders out of position and create space for others, which we have lacked since Diogo. That is possibly my description of "the complete number 9"

Were we sold the wrong player or is Julen Lopetegui idea of "the complete number 9" alien to mine?

Let me get it straight, I think Cunha is a tidy player and in his own right, did ok last season. It was difficult I guess for any player coming in to such a misshaped squad and the state we were in.

Having said that, in my view he was not worth what we paid and the investment in him imo, given what we face now, was the incorrect one.

But most importantly - has he added anything to what we currently did not have? Is he any better than Hwang, Podence, Neto?

Not writing him off by any stretch of the imagination and hopefully after a full pre season and in what the manager truly sees as "his team" we will see him shine in his own respective role, but right now, I have to be honest I am confused as to exactly what that is.

 

[MrJamez]

I am predicting a really successful season.

Saw glimpses last season of what he can do and I think the same goes for Nunes.

 

[Minimalist]

I really like him, think he will be excellent next season.
Seems best suited to being the second striker playing off someone. But I can also imagine he could play the central role in a front 3 provided he had the right players either side off him.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

Interesting one this for me, wouldn't mind getting a discussion going.

I was very excited when we signed Cunha. With Lopetegui clearly wanting him and describing him as "the complete number 9" or words to that effect, I thought we were finally going to get a forward who would contribute to goals and assists and most importantly, get in behind, drag defenders out of position and create space for others, which we have lacked since Diogo. That is possibly my description of "the complete number 9"

Were we sold the wrong player or is Julen Lopetegui idea of "the complete number 9" alien to mine?

Let me get it straight, I think Cunha is a tidy player and in his own right, did ok last season. It was difficult I guess for any player coming in to such a misshaped squad and the state we were in.

Having said that, in my view he was not worth what we paid and the investment in him imo, given what we face now, was the incorrect one.

But most importantly - has he added anything to what we currently did not have? Is he any better than Hwang, Podence, Neto?

Not writing him off by any stretch of the imagination and hopefully after a full pre season and in what the manager truly sees as "his team" we will see him shine in his own respective role, but right now, I have to be honest I am confused as to exactly what that is.

I agree entirely. Looks class on the ball, can beat a player, great touch, but had no one to link up with. May be more effective with a decent striker, but at the moment he looks like an extravagance. Surely our money could have been better spent on a goalscorer.

 

[Direwolf]

I think like many overseas players you have to give them at least a season to adapt to a more constant full on more physical Premier league. Certainly Matheus I thought improved as the season went on and I suspect Cunha will too. He has the right physical presence but he certainly needs to be more involved in and around the final third.

 

[Matt]

I am hopeful that we will see the best of both of our Matheus’ this season.

 

[JadeWolf]

I think we overpaid for him, you’re right. But we got really good value in our other January buys. £72m for Cunha, Gomes, Lemina, Dawson, Sarabia and Bentley is decent.

Difficult to properly judge him but I loved his passion and commitment.

 

[North West Wanderer]

I think we lacked a defined system last year. It was all about staying up, and nothing more.

If we go with 433, then this as a base is a good start

New GK
Semedo/New Dawson Kilman/NEW Bueno

Lemina Gomes

Nunes

Cunha NEW Neto

 

[Miniwolf]

He came into a relegation battle to a team with a dysfunctional attack so hard to judge him. Needs to be part of the refresh as an attacking unit.

 

[JohnB]

I am predicting a really successful season.

Saw glimpses last season of what he can do and I think the same goes for Nunes.

He’s the Andy Mutch but who’s the Steve Bull?

 

[Wolf316]

I think we overpaid for him, you’re right. But we got really good value in our other January buys. £72m for Cunha, Gomes, Lemina, Dawson, Sarabia and Bentley is decent.

Difficult to properly judge him but I loved his passion and commitment.

Couldn’t agree more. Certainly seems to feed off the fans and the lad genuinely wants to be here

 

[lets all have a disco]

It's a must that we get him somebody to combine with .....he isn't a number 9 but I think if you find the right partner and play him with a 9 he will be excellent.. .don't and he will probably have a mixed season again...

Dream is Cunha n En Nesyri.....cause both of em would run their socks off up top ....away from home would make a great counter attack pair and at home if you combined it with say Neto/Giles n Ocampus there would be goals I reckon ..

 

[1972 i began]

Most of the players were playing under intense pressure (especially the January purchases)Fighting relagation is never easy.He and Nunes will be different player’s this season,a full pre-season and under no pressure.I reckon Nunes will feel like the main man now Ruben has gone.So a massive improvement will be made there.Cunha will improve with a good pre season as well.So I’m looking forward to seeing how they both shape up.

 

[maws]

I get Traore vibes, obviously a good player but just doesn’t influence the game like he should, I fear we paid £30m too much for him, happy if he proves me wrong but I don’t see enough influence, no better than Sarabia who cost a lot less

 

[Skrilla]

When we stopped playing him as a centre forward, I think he looked miles better. Flashes of pure brilliance. Needs to add consistency to his game. His final ball has often been lacking. I think a full preseason will be as big of a benefit to him as any. I have very high hopes for him this season.

Sign a proper target man centre forward, put Cunha and Neto behind them and I think they'd prosper.

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

He’s going to be a star for I this season. Really like him.

We need a proper number 9 for him to partner with.

 

[Evthewolf]

I think he’s probably the hardest of the January players to assess. He works hard for a player in that role (not sure exactly how to define “that role”) but at times he did seem to go missing or have little impact on the game.

I definitely think we overpaid for him or in today’s crazy world of transfers, is that what to expect for that outlay?

What I would say is that perhaps we didn’t have a player alongside him to enable him to shine. The best option seemed to be Raul but from memory, we hardly started with those two up top.

That is the one thing that stands out like a sore thumb with us. Since Jota and Raul, we haven’t had two players on the pitch that seem to understand each other and form a partnership.

The Adama, Raul partnership that many will highlight was imo, at times, as much luck as judgment. Although not perfect, I do think Doherty brought the best out of Adama. Semedo and Adama was woefully nonproductive.

Partnerships in football are so important for me but despite all the talent at our disposal, rarely do we see two players on the same wavelength. It’s really disappointing that players like RAN, Semedo, Neto, Podence, Hwang, etc, have never formed a consistent understanding with another teammate.

They all seem ideal players for the one, two, give and go type football but it seldom happened for some reason. Hopefully this is worked on for next season along with our positional play because at times we are so one dimensional, it’s embarrassing. Our lack of ability to play out of defence and progress the ball forwards, needs a lot of work.

I think to get the best out of Cunha, he needs more mobility in and around him. Costa was okay with ball to feet but not going to make quick runs, in behind. We desperately need a midfielder that is prepared to get ahead of the attack at times as well.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

I think there's a lot of agreement. Good player, not obviously worth the transfer fee yet, but might justify it given the right time and circumstances. Not a player to lead the line in a (probably old fashioned) sense. Needs to play off a 9 in a 442 ideally for me.

 

[17miles]

Play him off a striker like Moussa Dembele and it could be very special.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Not sure I rate him that highly based on last season. Works hard but needs other players to help his style do we have that??

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

I think we lacked a defined system last year. It was all about staying up, and nothing more.

If we go with 433, then this as a base is a good start

New GK
Semedo/New Dawson Kilman/NEW Bueno

Lemina Gomes

Nunes

Cunha NEW Neto

Worrying brighton away line up vibes

 

[manchesterwolf17]

One of the more likable players we've had in a while.

We've seen the likes of Guedes, Sarabia and Trincao. Who whilst clearly talented, don't influence games enough, or have the required mentality. This is where I think Cunha is different to them.

Is he going to solve our goal scoring issues? I highly doubt it. If he can get us around double figures next season then that's where I think he should be. But he's clearly a good player, and importantly, wants to be here and has the mentality to get better.

Utilized in the right way, just off the striker(s) and he'll be an asset for us. With so many of our problems though, it's all about the system and style of play. Solve that and the difference to everyone will be noticeable.

 

[Mugwump]

I think he's brilliant tbh. Works hard, skillfull. Suffered a bit i think with a lot of niggly injuries imo.

 

[O Lobo do Parque Leste]

Like him as a bloke and a player, in how he comes across.
Showed flashes of what's in his locker last season, so hoping for it more consistently this season.
As for his fee, we've well and truly had the Scum 'Greenhouse' treatment once again.

 

[Urko]

Working hard is the absolute bare minimum, hopefully we haven’t got a £40M Andy Keogh on the books.

 

[The Wolf In The North]

I think the original post highlights why there was an air of disappointment about Cunha last season. He is categorically not a 9, any more than Neto or Podence, because his instinct is not to drift between the defenders to take up a dangerous central position, he plays in front of them.

He's actually the closest to a 10 we have, because he's deceptively strong, has quick feet, and he showed towards the end of the season that he can take the ball past opponents. Neto and Podence are inside forwards, Cunha is a deep second striker, and all three would improve fabulously with a proper striker ahead of them, as we all know.

It's not the done thing to criticize Raul, he's a legend, but he was non-existent really last yeae, and although Costa was a powerful physical presence he had lost all speed and reaction time. We have enough creative talent in the side that a Mitrovic type would transform things.

 

[SA Wolf]

Never worth £40 odd million. Tidy and brings something to us, but another player that we have over-paid for. Join the club, Matheus.

 

[Ian]

Working hard is the absolute bare minimum, hopefully we haven’t got a £40M Andy Keogh on the books.

Indeed.... on what he's shown so far he's yet another of the overrated, overpriced players that do a couple of nice things every now and then to make you think that we have a real player on our hands but in reality over 90 minutes on a week to week basis have little influence on the game.
It's still early in his career with Wolves though so hopefully Cunha and Nunes ( and Sarabia) can hit the ground running from the first match of the season.

 

[Slothmonkey]

With Cunha I believe we have bought a good player. We may have over paid for him but that's what we had to do in order to bring him in possibly.

I feel his game though did not suit the style that we had to adapt to stay up. He looks more of a player that will create for others than score himself. I feel its unfair to judge him fully based on his first 6 months but I liked what he bought to the team. We generally were better when he was on the pitch. Hopefully with some additions and a full preseason. We will see why we paid 40 mil

 

[Matt]

I think because of how desperately ****e we’ve been over the past few years, we can be guilty of writing players off too soon. Hopefully a much changed side with fresh ideas come August will allow these players to flourish a bit more.

 

[Wildman]

Id love to see him drifting in from the left. Seems his natural position with previous clubs but weve never seen him there for us.

Play him there and Sarabia in the 10 role and all of a sudden I think we look a lot more creative

 

[OLDGOLD]

He’s the Andy Mutch but who’s the Steve Bull?

I think this is pretty accurate. He looks a good player and should chip in with a few goals, but not sure that he will kick on and get more than 10 a season. That said, if the likes of him and Nunes kick on and we end up with a team where a couple of players score 10 ish and 5 or six score over 5, and we carry more of a threat as a team, then that would do. I still think we need a main man though, and I am not sure they are presently at the club on current evidence.

 

[Woolywolf]

Got quality and grafts. Based on what we’ve seen we significantly overpaid. My main concern is we have to set up our formation to accommodate him. Don’t think he’s influential enough to do that

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

He's a good player but he's also a problem.

As such a big signing, you feel inclined to play him, and if people think we can't have a £25m-rated defender in Collins on the bench, we certainly can't have a £40m forward!

Then, where do you play him? Most agree that he isn't a striker, and he isn't a wide man either. So he is basically dictating that we have to play 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 whatever you want to call it.

That's not necesarilly an issue, as it's a fine formation, but we essentially have to build around Cunha due to his lack of flexibility and his cost.

The January window was a weird one. The signings of Lemina and Dawson were obviously massive and ultimately kept us up.

But the Cunha signings was a very bad one. As I said, I think he's a good player but we've ultimately bought another non-scoring forward who has to play in a specific way - and we've paid £40m for him! It's a very bad deal. You add in Sarabia who will be one of our highest earners, a very poor signing. For balance, Gomes does look a very good bit of business, but I'm not fully on board with Hobbs/Lopetegui as our saviours in the market just yet.

 

[1972 i began]

I think he’s probably the hardest of the January players to assess. He works hard for a player in that role (not sure exactly how to define “that role”) but at times he did seem to go missing or have little impact on the game.

I definitely think we overpaid for him or in today’s crazy world of transfers, is that what to expect for that outlay?

What I would say is that perhaps we didn’t have a player alongside him to enable him to shine. The best option seemed to be Raul but from memory, we hardly started with those two up top.

That is the one thing that stands out like a sore thumb with us. Since Jota and Raul, we haven’t had two players on the pitch that seem to understand each other and form a partnership.

The Adama, Raul partnership that many will highlight was imo, at times, as much luck as judgment. Although not perfect, I do think Doherty brought the best out of Adama. Semedo and Adama was woefully nonproductive.

Partnerships in football are so important for me but despite all the talent at our disposal, rarely do we see two players on the same wavelength. It’s really disappointing that players like RAN, Semedo, Neto, Podence, Hwang, etc, have never formed a consistent understanding with another teammate.

They all seem ideal players for the one, two, give and go type football but it seldom happened for some reason. Hopefully this is worked on for next season along with our positional play because at times we are so one dimensional, it’s embarrassing. Our lack of ability to play out of defence and progress the ball forwards, needs a lot of work.

I think to get the best out of Cunha, he needs more mobility in and around him. Costa was okay with ball to feet but not going to make quick runs, in behind. We desperately need a midfielder that is prepared to get ahead of the attack at times as well.

Boubacar will be the one to thread the balls through the middle.How much we all loved Ruben he mostly pinged balls to the wings.And if your wingers /wing backs ay producing the crosses,it’s a waste of time.Hopefully this changes and Sasha gets on the end of a few.

 

[Contrarian]

I think like many overseas players you have to give them at least a season to adapt to a more constant full on more physical Premier league.

That's not a rule. Plenty of other players don't need a full season - Isak, for example. Some players need a season to adapt. Some don't. And some never adapt. The problem is that we don't know which it is yet. For the apologists, "give them more time" never ends! If he has another empty season, there's always some player in history who took 2 or 3 years before scoring, so they will roll him out. Almiron!!! Don't forget Almiron!!

It's just flawed logic. All dogs have four legs doesn't mean that all creatures with four legs are dogs. Similarly, because one current goal scorer didn't score for 2 seasons, doesn't mean that all those who don't score for 2 seasons will score in the third season. They might just be not good enough. And for every Almiron, there's 20 Cutrones and others who never get good enough.

Certainly Matheus I thought improved as the season went on and I suspect Cunha will too. He has the right physical presence but he certainly needs to be more involved in and around the final third.

He's looked a poor finisher. For that alone, I have no idea how he could be called a complete number 9. When we signed him, I read in a couple of places that he was not a goal scorer, more of a creator. As for physical presence, I'm not sure what you're seeing there. He has no aerial presence, doesn't even challenge and can barely jump 2 inches off the ground. Gets pushed off the ball far too easily. Like too many of our recent signings, he has skills, but is utterly lightweight.

Hwang and Podence are mediocre players "at this level", yet look far more convincing (despire constant criticism on here), didn't take a season or 3 to get started and for less than half the price.

 

[JohnB]

He's a good player but he's also a problem.

As such a big signing, you feel inclined to play him, and if people think we can't have a £25m-rated defender in Collins on the bench, we certainly can't have a £40m forward!

Then, where do you play him? Most agree that he isn't a striker, and he isn't a wide man either. So he is basically dictating that we have to play 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 whatever you want to call it.

That's not necesarilly an issue, as it's a fine formation, but we essentially have to build around Cunha due to his lack of flexibility and his cost.

The January window was a weird one. The signings of Lemina and Dawson were obviously massive and ultimately kept us up.

But the Cunha signings was a very bad one. As I said, I think he's a good player but we've ultimately bought another non-scoring forward who has to play in a specific way - and we've paid £40m for him! It's a very bad deal. You add in Sarabia who will be one of our highest earners, a very poor signing. For balance, Gomes does look a very good bit of business, but I'm not fully on board with Hobbs/Lopetegui as our saviours in the market just yet.

For me it is 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3–1 something like

Striker
Cunha
Neto Gomes Lemina Nunes

Or

Striker
Neto Cunha Sarabia
Nunes Lemina

 

[MasWolf]

He's clearly not a 9 and yes we certainly overpaid for him. However, I think he will do well next season. I don't see him getting into double figures for league goals, but if he gets into double figures for goals and assists, I'd say that was pretty good from what we've seen so far.

 

[Wolves Heathen]

Like him as a bloke, but we paid double what he is worth on what we have seen so far.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

He's a good player but he's also a problem.

As such a big signing, you feel inclined to play him, and if people think we can't have a £25m-rated defender in Collins on the bench, we certainly can't have a £40m forward!

Then, where do you play him? Most agree that he isn't a striker, and he isn't a wide man either. So he is basically dictating that we have to play 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 whatever you want to call it.

That's not necesarilly an issue, as it's a fine formation, but we essentially have to build around Cunha due to his lack of flexibility and his cost.

The January window was a weird one. The signings of Lemina and Dawson were obviously massive and ultimately kept us up.

But the Cunha signings was a very bad one. As I said, I think he's a good player but we've ultimately bought another non-scoring forward who has to play in a specific way - and we've paid £40m for him! It's a very bad deal. You add in Sarabia who will be one of our highest earners, a very poor signing. For balance, Gomes does look a very good bit of business, but I'm not fully on board with Hobbs/Lopetegui as our saviours in the market just yet.

Lemina and Dawson have done a good job. But not convinced either are going to have us playing in Europe anytime.

I like the look of Sarabia, but really we didn't need him. Cunha looks alright, but doesn't look like he'll score many. Gomes looks a talent, I think a lot of us are resting our hopes for the season in that one guy.
We had an unbalanced squad at the start of the window
We needed a striker that scored goals that window and we didn't get it. So instead we bought defensive midfielders and wide forwards, making the balance of the squad even worse than it was already.