Matheus Cunha was an exceptional player for Wolves, and the Old Gold are no doubt missing the quality he brought them last season.
It was under Gary O’Neil when the Brazilian truly exploded in the Premier League, and O’Neil admits he had fascinating conversations with Cunha.
Under the leadership of O’Neil, the Brazilian produced 19 goal involvements throughout the 2023/2024 Premier League season.
The quality of the player was so clear that even Conor Coady revealed the Wolves squad would allow Cunha’s red cards due to the talent he provided in other games.
Matheus Cunha is now at Manchester United after completing a £62.5 million move, but in a recent video, Gary O’Neil has shared a story about his time with the player.
Gary O’Neil says instructions drove Matheus Cunha ‘mad’
Gary O’Neil has lifted the lid on his relationship with Matheus Cunha and has admitted the amount of work he asked the Brazilian to do during games made the player frustrated.
Speaking on the Coaches’ Voice about Wolves’ 4-2 win over Chelsea back in February 2024, O’Neil shared his thoughts on Cunha.
O’Neil said, “We had a good relationship, myself and Matheus, but I know I drove him mad at times with the amount of work I asked him to do and how diligent I wanted him to be in these positions.
“I couldn’t improve the talent that he had because his talent was already top, but what he needed to do was trust my understanding of where he needed to be and why and at what times and that he needed to be there always and that we didn’t want to waste any opportunities.”
Matheus Cunha has often been criticised for walking around the football pitch and he walked more than any other player in the Premier League last season.
Cunha also walked more than any other player in his Manchester United debut, so it is a characteristic the Brazilian carries with him everywhere.
However, Gary O’Neil was able to unearth the talent the forward possessed, and his ability to provide instructions, while it may have frustrated Cunha, helped him perform at his best – a fact O’Neil believes Cunha appreciates.
The hat-trick against Chelsea is just one game in which O’Neil’s ability to churn out top performances from his players was on show.
Gary O’Neil believes Matheus Cunha appreciates the work he had to do
Despite being unhappy with the level of instructions and work Gary O’Neil gave him, the former Wolves boss believes Cunha is appreciative of what he has done for him.
O’Neil said, “He was getting more and more opportunities to show the world how good he was in this area.
“So I know he appreciated the work that went into him, and he could feel the appreciation I had for him because to work with a player with this ability, you could get the ball into the pockets and he could cause chaos or you could ask him to play outside and he’ll still cause chaos.”
Life for Cunha after Wolves has not quite been as expected, with the forward yet to score a competitive goal. However, he did recently pick up an injury against Burnley and has started just three matches so far.
Wolves fans know very well how good the Brazilian is, and they won’t be surprised when the player starts to showcase his quality once again.