Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers as Ruben Amorim begins to overhaul his Red Devils squad following a disastrous season.
United finished the season yesterday with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, but finished 15th in the Premier League and lost Wednesday’s Europa League Final to Tottenham Hotspur, meaning they will have no European football next season.
However, they have wasted no time in making additions to the squad, with Fabrizio Romano revealing late last night that an agreement has been reached for the club to sign Cunha for £62.5 million on a five year deal with an option for an extra year.
Why do United want Cunha?
According to Whoscored.com, Cunha has played the majority of matches as an attacking central midfielder, getting 12 goals and six assists from 24 games playing in that area. In Amorim’s system, he would likely play as one of the two ‘number 10s’ behind the main striker.
He would allow United to vary their attacks, being strong at both long balls and lay-offs. He also likes to cut inside and draws fouls from the opposition. Someone who can vary their play like Cunha could prove to be invaluable when United need to change their approach depending on how a game is progressing.
There may be concerns over his disciplinary record. Earlier this season he missed four games after being sent off in a FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth, having earlier been suspended for an altercation with a member of Ipswich staff.
How does he compare to United’s current forwards?
Cunha was Wolves’ top scorer this season with 17 goals in 35 appearances. This included 15 in 32 in the Premier League. This would have comfortably made him United’s top scorer in the league and second highest overall.
United’s top scorer was Bruno Fernandes with 19 overall. Fernandes and Amad Diallo were the Red Devils’ joint top scorers in the league with eight each. Alejandro Garnacho, who has reportedly been told to find another club, was next with six. In all competitions only four players- Fernandes, Diallo and Garnacho (11) and Rasmus Hojlund (10) managed double figures.
Joshua Zirkzee endured a difficult first season in England following his £36.5 million arrival from Bologna in the summer. Despite featuring in 47 games, 32 of them in the league, he only found the back of the net seven times.
Given Cunha has managed to equal Hojlund and Zirkzee’s goal tally while playing in a side that was struggling during the first half of the season until Vitor Pereira replaced Gary O’Neil, it is clear to see that he would be an immediate improvement.
How United could line up with Cunha
Since his arrival at United, Amorim has utilised the 3-4-3 system that worked so well at Sporting. This means they would line up with three centre backs, with Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire generally the preferred options while Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt have been injured.
The centre backs then have options to either play the ball forward to a double pivot with two more defensive central midfielders, or out wide to the wing-backs, which most often this season have been Diogo Dalot and January arrival Patrick Dorgu.
Two inside forwards, or ‘number 10s’ then play just behind the main striker. The wing backs holding the width allows the front three to be flexible, rotating in order to find space. Cunha’s attributes would suggest he is best suited to one of the inside forward roles.
United also seem to be prioritising a new addition for the main striker role due to Hojlund and Zirkzee’s struggles. Viktor Gyokeres from Amorim’s former club Sporting has been linked, as has Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap.