Wolves are brewing their own version of Cunha in teenage sensation
Wolverhampton Wanderers are all but safe from Premier League relegation following their 2-1 victory over Ipswich Town last weekend.
Although it isn’t mathematically confirmed yet, it would take a miraculous series of events for the Tractor Boys to stay up at Wolves’ expense.
Vitor Pereira has done what he was brought in to do, but next season there will be a clean slate and the pressure to take the Old Gold into the top half of the league table.
Keeping Matheus Cunha at Molineux will be crucial in his bid to do so. That’s a certainty.
Matheus Cunha’s future at Wolves is uncertain
The Brazilian has scored 15 goals and registered four assists this season for Wolves. Given where they are in the table, if it weren’t for these contributions, the club would surely be facing the drop heading into the final few games of the campaign.
Not only does he rank in the top 2% for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.55) in the top flight when compared to his positional peers, but the former Atlético Madrid star also ranks in the top 7% for total shots per 90 (3.61) and for carries into the final third (3.11), showing his class in the final third.
Manchester United were linked with a move for the attacking midfielder, while Arsenal also showed interest during the January transfer window.
| Matheus Cunha’s PL stats for Wolves since joining | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
| Goals | 2 | 12 | 13 |
| Assists | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Big chances created | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| Shots per game | 1.5 | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| Key passes per game | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.7 |
| Via Sofascore | |||
It appears as though he could be on his way out of the Old Gold this summer and with a £62.5m release clause in his contract, the club stand to make a decent return on the player.
If he does leave, will Pereira use this fee to bring in a replacement or two? Or will he strengthen other areas of his squad?
It could be the latter, as U21 starlet Ty Barnett could be the club’s homegrown answer to the 25-year-old star.
Ty Barnett could be Wolves’ next superstar
Barnett tends to either play as a left-winger or an attacking midfielder, while the youngster has a decent eye for goal, netting 12 across 59 matches for the youth teams at the Old Gold.
This season, he has even featured as a centre-forward and this positional versatility mimics that of Cunha, who can operate across a few attacking positions.
The 19-year-old signed an extension to his contract in 2023 which will keep him in the Midlands until at least 2026, being praised by Jon Hunter-Barrett, the academy manager, in the process.
“We’re all delighted to agree on new terms for Ty. He has the ability to create and score and is very good in one v one situations.”
The teenager showed glimpses of his talent in the Football League Trophy this season. In three matches for the U21s, Barnett averaged two shots per game, scored once, and succeeded with 80% of his passes.
Given his team was playing against senior opposition in Wrexham, Port Vale, and Salford, it certainly wasn’t a bad set of displays by the talented forward, as he showed that he has the ability and maturity to play at first-team level.
This suggests that the potential is there for him to make the step up at Wolves and that is why he could be a future star for Pereira in the senior set-up if given an opportunity this season, or next term.
With Wolves virtually guaranteed survival, might Pereira give him his senior debut? Only time will tell.
