Wolves will be one of the busiest clubs during the summer transfer window.
Wolves were the second-highest spenders in January and are preparing for another important transfer window at the end of the season.
Vitor Pereira must make some key decisions in the summer, including deciding the future of Matheus Cunha, who is wanted by all the top clubs.
Vitor Pereira describes his perfect striker
Cunha has been a great player for Wolves. The Brazilian has, at times this season, won points all by himself.
But he wants out — Cunha has made it clear he wants to test himself at Europe’s best, and a release clause worth £62.5 million means Wolves won’t stand in his way.
It isn’t all bad news for Pereira though — Jorgen Strand Larsen will remain at Molineux next season, and the Norwegian is finally starting to show what he’s capable of.
Talking about Strand Larsen’s teamwork on the official Wolves website, Pereira said: “When we look for a striker, we look for someone to score goals. But he’s the first man on the pitch that starts our passing. If he doesn’t know how to do it, or if he doesn’t have this character to sacrifice himself to help the team, then he will be not the striker that I’m looking for.”
He added: “I don’t look for a striker who is just a guy to score goals and say, ‘OK, I’ve scored my goal, and now it is up to you’. I don’t like this kind of striker. My striker must be a fighter, he must be someone that is the first one to start defending, and the responsibility is not only to score goals, it’s not to be put in his shoulders, that’s for everybody.
“When we are defending, it’s the same, and because he has this spirit, this character, he is a player that I like the profile of.”
Clearly a big fan of Strand Larsen and what he brings to the team, it’s fair to assume the 25-year-old will have a big part to play next season.
A look at Matheus Cunha’s defensive contributions
Pereira’s comments on Strand Larsen prove his strikers need to offer as much going backwards as they do going forward.
When it comes to Cunha though, defensive contributions are far from his natural playing style.
As his Sofascore stats show, the Brazilian ranks among some of the lowest in the entire Wolves’ squad for defensive actions.
Cunha’s reluctance to track too far back, which compromises his position in the final third, is not to his manager’s liking.
Unfortunately, with Wolves rarely dominating possession, Pereira needs his forwards to help out, and Cunha’s lack of tackles, interceptions and clearances in his opponent’s final third prove he isn’t often in the half of the pitch his manager wants him to be in.
Not only that, but Strand Larsen’s numbers with, and without, Cunha this season suggest he is significantly more effective when asked to lead Wolves’ attack alone.