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MANCHESTER UNITED LOOK SET TO MAKE MATHEUS CUNHA THEIR FIRST SUMMER SIGNING AND THE FORWARD HAS BEEN KNOWN TO INSPIRE HIS TEAM-MATES WHEN COMING INTO A CLUB WHOSE FORTUNES ARE ON A DOWNTURN
09:17, 01 Jun 2025 Manchester United target Matheus Cunha has already shown at one of his previous clubs that when the chips are down, he can be the player to help turn things around. The
26-year-old has been cited as a transformational-type figure who can help alter a club's fortunes - a factor United so desperately need coming off their back of a dismal Premier League
season and defeat in the Europa League final. Barring any last minute snags, the Wolves star is expected to become Ruben Amorim's first signing of the summer. United remain in talks
with the Midlands side over how to structure the payment of his £62.5million release clause. Should United get that deal over the line, he is expected to slot straight into Amorim's
first-choice XI and occupy the left-sided No. 10 spot. Cunha has demonstrated more than just tactical flexibility however. The Brazilian joined Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin in January 2020
and within two seasons in the German capital he became something of a hero to locals. He was even lauded as the reason the team staved off relegation, according to Hertha writer Marc
Schwitzky. “Cunha played his way into the hearts of the Berliners,” Schwitzky told The Athletic in January 2023. “He came in January 2020 when the team was completely down and was possibly
the main factor in them not being relegated. Article continues below “Normally, it is a problem when a team has no offensive flow, but for Cunha, exactly this freedom was perfect, he
blossomed completely. “Many games of the second half of 2020-21 became a Cunha show. Again and again he led the way with spectacular scenes, he didn’t seem to care about all the pressure of
relegation, he was just happy to be able to play so much. “He also started the 2021-22 season fantastically, in the first 10 games he was directly involved in nine goals. But then he fell
into a dip in form that he couldn’t get out of.” Cunha’s slight dip in form brought clashes with then Hertha coach Bruno Labaddia over what was perceived as a lack of tactical discipline.
And discipline is a word that has frequently come up in Cunha's colourful career. On the flip-side to his more valiant attributes, concerns over the player's ability to keep a cool
head have been raised. While Cunha bagged 17 goals and six assists in all competitions for Wolves this season he also grappled with behavioural issues. The 26-year-old was handed a two-game
ban in December after appearing to elbow an Ipswich Town staff member before removing the same staffer's glasses. In March, he was also suspended for four games after headbutting
Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez and being escorted down the tunnel during an FA Cup tie. Ex-England striker Gary Lineker is just one who has fired a warning to United, claiming that Cunha
might suffer from "lacking team principles and work ethic". "He's an incredibly talented player. There's a slight question mark against Matheus Cunha in terms of
managers," Lineker said on the Rest is Football podcast recently. "He's either brilliant or he can be accused occasionally of lacking team principles and work ethic."
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