Former Wolves midfielder Dave Edwards has admitted Matheus Cunha has proven him wrong, after he had questioned the Brazilian over his final third efficiency last season.
Cunha made headlines again at the weekend, as he struck Wolves’ second goal in the 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
Wolves are into the fifth round of the FA Cup, and now host Brighton at Molineux in late February.
Cunha – branded ‘very talented’ on Sunday by Roy Keane – was one of Wolves’ best players on the day, which is something that is becoming increasingly common now. It does not seem to matter where Gary O’Neil puts him, the South American is delivering.
Edwards spoke about Cunha after the derby win, and admitted the player has proven him wrong…
Dave Edwards says ‘magnificent’ Matheus Cunha has proven him wrong at Wolves
For quite a while, the narrative surrounding Cunha was that he didn’t have a great end product. That he was very good in the build-up, but not the best in the final third.
Many argued that Cunha was not being used correctly. Some felt his wayward finishing should have forced Julen Lopetegui to drop him deeper.
This term, Gary O’Neil has used Cunha up top and from the left – and the 24-year-old has returned eight goals and six assists.
He’s been, without doubt, one of Wolves’ best players this term, and Edwards raved about him after Sunday’s win over Albion. He said (via Wolves official): “I was on Cunha’s back a little bit last year because I didn’t think he was the answer, but he’s been magnificent this season. Gary O’Neil has known how to play him. He puts him in areas where he can affect the game and that has to be down to Gary O’Neil.”
Back in April 2023, Edwards said that Cunha leading the line for Wolves was something that just ‘did not work’.
There has been talk about Wolves bringing in a new striker this month. But in the eye of Edwards, the manager may now be able to rely on Cunha.
“Hopefully he keeps impressing and what they have done over the past four to six weeks is shown we could maybe get to the end of the season without getting someone in the transfer market,” he added.
“They don’t have to panic buy because there’s enough quality in the squad. Although it’s very small, there’s not many options on the bench at the moment, they have enough quality to get through to the summer and you can look at adding a few players with real quality.”
Cunha can still improve, but he’s made huge strides under O’Neil
Cunha’s contributions this season have probably forced quite a few Wolves fans to change their view of him, not just Edwards.
He has been fantastic this season playing a variety of positions across the final third and just in behind. Despite proving himself capable, there is probably still a desire not to have him leading the line long-term, but Cunha has shown he is definitely an option.
The really exciting thing is that Cunha is nowhere near the finished article and has a few years to go until he comes into his peak years.
Hopefully, he will still be a Wolves player when that period comes – the South American did state recently that he was eyeing a lengthy stay at Molineux.