As had been expected at the start of the summer, Pedro Neto is no longer a Wolves player.
The winger completed a move to Chelsea at the weekend, with the Blues paying Wanderers around £54 million, which is a club-record sale for Wolves.
There had been some increased hope recently that Neto would be sticking around. He returned partway through the club’s pre-season trip to the US, and got minutes against RB Leipzig.
While out in Miami, Gary O’Neil said that he felt confident the player would stay. However, things moved quickly once the club returned to the UK, and Chelsea got their man.
Neto was widely considered Wolves’ best player. Certainly, the majority of neutrals held that opinion.
This means a debate can now be had as to who Wolves’ new best player is at Molineux.
Wolves are still blessed with some amazing players despite Neto leaving
Wolves have constructed a really good squad over the past few years.
There was a bit of a firesale last summer as a result of the club’s worrying financial situation, and the likes of Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez were sold, and Adama Traore, Diego Costa and Joao Moutinho all left at the end of their contracts.
But Wolves still have a very talented squad, with Matt Hobbs playing a bit part in that.
Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina were inspired additions in January 2023. The duo were instrumental in keeping Wolves up, and are without doubt two of Wolves’ top players – especially Lemina. The Gabon international is the new captain at Molineux, and has turned in so many inspirational performances.
Wolves also have some fantastic younger players with very high ceilings.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and Joao Gomes are two players everyone associated with Wolves is excited about. They will both surely make Wolves a fortune in the coming years.
Nelson Semedo has developed into a top Premier League full-back, and last term he finished as the Players’ Player of the Season at Wolves.
Hwang Hee-chan has also established himself as a top player at Wolves after fairly average first couple of seasons. The South Korean is a proven goalscorer at Premier League, runs his socks off every game and is adored by the fans.
But there is arguably one man in the Wolves squad who is ‘better’ than these players, and someone many could soon be talking about as the ‘face’ of Wolves in the same way Neto was.
Matheus Cunha is now Wolves’ best player
There is now a strong argument for Matheus Cunha being Wolves’ best player following the sale of Neto.
The Brazilian signed for Wolves in January 2023 for £44 million from Atletico Madrid, making him the club’s record signing.
Cunha did not hit it off straight away in English football, with Julen Lopetegui seemingly struggling to get the best out of him. He only hit two goals in 20 appearances.
There was some talk that Wanderers had massively overpaid and even to this day, it still looks quite a big fee.
However, last term Cunha really came to the fore for Wolves and was absolutely superb under O’Neil, who clearly spent a lot of time with the number 12 on the training pitches.
He finished the 2023/24 campaign with 22 goal involvements to his name, and his haul of 14 goals was the best of his professional career to date.
Cunha constantly stood out for Wolves last term when he was fit, with his speed and ball-carrying regularly lifting bums off seats at Molineux.
He was much more of a threat, and he could also produce moments of utter brilliance, such as his solo effort against Nottingham Forest. Neto was perhaps the only other Wolves player who could have scored such a goal.
And Cunha isn’t just a huge threat in the final third and very difficult to contain – he also does the dirty work and presses from the front, just as O’Neil likes.
O’Neil said recently that he felt talent-wise and physical attributes-wise, Cunha ‘should be playing for a top, top club’, which rather says it all.
The manager knows he has a serious player on his hands, and it now quite difficult to overlook him as Wolves’ new best player after Neto’s exit.
Yes, Lemina is a highly influential player, and Ait-Nouri could become world-class eventually. But right now, Cunha is a game-changer for Wolves and the best player at O’Neil’s disposal.