Wolverhampton Wanderers have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring Matheus Cunha to Molineux in the January transfer window.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by the Evening Standard, who claim that, despite Wolves having been heavily linked with a move for the Atletico Madrid centre-forward in recent weeks, the LaLiga side have now offered Chelsea the opportunity to sign the 23-year-old this winter following the loss of Armando Broja to a serious knee injury.
This is sure to have come as a huge blow to Julen Lopetegui, with The Athletic reporting earlier this month that the Old Gold were initially leading the race to sign the 23-year-old this winter – something that would now appear to be in considerable doubt following the potential interest of the Blues.
Bad news for Wolves
Considering just how talented a forward Cunha undoubtedly is, coupled with the fact that Wolves are currently the Premier League side who have scored the least goals this season, the news that Chelsea now look to have entered the race for the striker’s signature this winter is certainly bad news for Lopetegui and his side.
Indeed, despite an underwhelming spell at Atleti – scoring seven goals and providing eight assists over his 54 fixtures for the LaLiga side – the £26m-rated talent proved in his first campaign with Hertha BSC back in 2019/20 just how deadly he can be in the final third, scoring five goals and registering a further two assists over his 11 Bundesliga appearances that season.
The £49k-per-week forward once again caught the eye over his 27 league outings the following season, bagging seven goals, providing five assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.3 shots – 1.3 of which hit the target – making 1.8 key passes and completing 3.0 dribbles – the joint second-most in the division – per game.
These returns saw the player who Bruno Labbadia dubbed “special” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.15, not only ranking him as Hertha’s best performer in the league but also as the joint 26th-best player in the Bundesliga as a whole in 2020/21.
As such, should Lopetegui believe that he can be the manager to help Cunha rediscover his Hertha form, it is undeniable that the Brazilian would make an exceptional addition to Wolves’ current options up top ahead of the second half of the Premier League campaign.
However, following the news that Chelsea – who can offer the Brazilian Champions League football, as well as a considerably bigger salary – could now be interested in the centre-forward, it would appear as if Wolves’ chances of landing the 23-year-old have been dealt a significant blow, which is indeed terrible news for the Spanish manager.