Wolves were devastated by the loss of Matheus Cunha this summer after his exit to Manchester United.
Cunha joined Man United for £62.5 million after months of speculation surrounding his future, and he’s since grabbed the club’s famous number 10 jersey from Marcus Rashford.
The 26-year-old earned a transfer to Old Trafford after plundering 23 goal involvements in all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign as Wolves survived in the Premier League.
Wolves will miss Cunha’s incredible quality in the final third, but with the pending transfer of Jhon Arias to Molineux, Vitor Pereira will hope the Colombian can fill his void.
However, whilst Arias will have high expectations as he fulfils his dream of playing in the Premier League, Pereira already has a player in his squad who is on another level.
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Andre is Wolves’ next ‘world-class’ player after Matheus Cunha
The term ‘world-class’ was often applied to Cunha during his two-and-a-half-year spell in Wolverhampton, and this was demonstrated by his match-winning performances.
But incredibly, he isn’t the only player reaching similar levels in the Wolves squad, as E&S journalist Nathan Judah believes Andre is ‘world-class’ and on a ‘different level’ to the rest of his teammates.
Analysing his pre-season performance against CD Santa Clara, Judah said on the E&S podcast: “We should mention, there was some talk about Juventus and you can understand it as well, because he is, for me, getting towards being world-class if he’s not there already.
“Some of the performances last season, I mean, you’d be devastated if Wolves lost him. I hope beyond all hope that they wouldn’t, unless it would be ridiculous. Everyone’s got a price, of course they have. But I tell you what, even just watching that training game, he is on a different level to everyone.”
Andre was linked with Juventus last week after his remarkable first season in the Premier League, but Wolves said Andre isn’t for sale under any circumstances, which was music to supporters’ ears.
What makes Andre a ‘world-class’ player
The term ‘world-class’ can be thrown around at players loosely, though in Andre’s case, he deserves such praise.
As a deep-lying playmaker in Pereira’s system, the Brazilian is never flustered under pressure and can easily keep the ball against the opposition.
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Andre is one of the Premier League’s best defensive midfielders, according to Dave Edwards, and the statistics reinforce his point.
| Statistic | Per 90 average | Rank in Premier League |
| Pass completion % | 92.9% | Top 1% |
| Tackles | 3.31 | Top 11% |
| Tackles won | 2.00 | Top 12% |
| Recoveries | 7.06 | Top 4% |
| Switches | 0.55 | Top 8% |
He ranked in the top 1% for pass completion last term and the top 4% for recoveries, with Andre even outperforming Kevin De Bruyne for long passes per game.
In a world where top-drawer midfield enforcers are hard to come by, Andre is someone destined to play at the highest level. Wolves are just hoping they can somehow hold onto him.