Wolves have nine games left to salvage their season before attention turns to the summer transfer window.
Wolves were the second-highest spenders in January and look set for another busy summer window.
The Premier League announced changes to the summer window which will see trading begin from Sunday, 1 June, and run until Monday, 1 September with a six-day break in between.
And for Wolves, this could mean receiving an offer from Matheus Cunha earlier than usual.
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Matheus Cunha expected to snub Premier League club
Cunha is Vitor Pereira’s most valuable player, both in terms of quality and contract. Cunha’s extension includes a minimum release clause; widely reported to be worth £62.5 million.
As a result of the forward’s availability, many clubs are circling. Nottingham Forest want to sign Cunha, but club expert Nathan Judah doesn’t think the South American will swap Molineux for the City Ground… Even if Nuno Espirito Santo delivers Champions League football next season.
“I’m calling this will happen at the end of the season. On the day when the transfer window opens up, Nottingham Forest will put in a bid for Matheus Cunha straight away on day one, whether they want to get him to not, whether they want to pay that kind of money or not,” he said on the latest E&S Wolves podcast.
“They will trigger that clause and I think that will trigger other teams, whether it’s abroad or in this country to match that very, very quickly.
“I don’t think he’ll go to Nottingham Forest, by the way, even if they get Champions League football. I’d be absolutely stunned, but I can see that happening [a bid being made], in terms of a good, savvy media look from Nottingham Forest and an ambition point of view.”
A fair prediction for what is going to be one of this summer’s most heavily discussed transfer sagas.
If not to Nottingham Forest, then where?
Even though he is not expected to accept a transfer to Nottingham Forest, Cunha remains wanted by nearly all the top clubs.
Although Cunha’s release clause would be a club record for Wolves, the forward’s value is likely to be viewed as a shrewd piece of business for the top, top sides.
Despite Mikel Arteta having concerns over Cunha’s temperament, the Gunners are among the favourites to prize him away from the Midlands, and understandably so.
Arsenal are desperately short of forwards. Not only is Gabriel Jesus out injured, but Kai Havertz also picked up an injury which has ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. Cunha’s inclusion would add to Arteta’s forward options and certainly improve the Gunners’ firepower.
Expected to prioritise playing in the Champions League, once the Premier League’s final league table is decided, Cunha will have a better idea of which clubs can offer the most exciting opportunities.
However, with Arsenal sitting pretty in second, and nailed on to be in Europe’s biggest club competition, seeing Cunha playing at the Emirates next season would hardly be a surprise.