Wolverhampton Wanderers find themselves in a difficult spot in the Premier League and there is plenty of football left to be played for them to ensure that they do not drop down to the Championship.
Vitor Pereira’s side are currently sat in 17th place in the division, one place above the drop zone, and have put a five-point gap between themselves and Ipswich Town.
Brazil international Matheus Cunha has played a significant role in their fight for survival to this point, clawing them out of the relegation zone and to safety, as it stands.
The forward, who initially signed on loan from Atletico Madrid before joining permanently for £35m, has been in terrific form for the Old Gold in the Premier League.
Matheus Cunha’s form this season
The 25-year-old star, who is currently suspended after being sent off against Bournemouth in the FA Cup, has scored 13 goals and provided four assists in 26 appearances in the top-flight.
He ranks first within the Wolves squad for goals (13), ‘big chances’ created (12), xA (4.43), and key passes per game (1.7), which illustrates how much the forward has carried the attack on his back this season.
Premier League giants Arsenal were linked with the £80m-rated attacker in the January transfer window, which suggests that Wolves may have a struggle on their hands to keep hold of him if he continues to impress ahead of the summer.
He would not, however, be the first former Atletico Madrid star to be sold on for a profit by the Old Gold, though, as they once hit the jackpot with Diogo Jota.
Wolves struck gold with Diogo Jota
Wolves initially signed the Portuguese attacker on loan from the Spanish giants for the 2017/18 campaign, and then signed him permanently for a reported fee of roughly £12m in the summer of 2018.
Sporting director Kevin Thelwell described the permanent deal as a “huge coup” for the Old Gold, which turned out to be a very accurate assessment, after the club were able to sign him upon the expiry of his loan spell.
|
Diogo Jota (Premier League) |
18/19 |
19/20 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
33 |
34 |
|
Goals |
9 |
7 |
|
Big chances missed |
8 |
12 |
|
Big chances created |
10 |
3 |
|
Assists |
5 |
1 |
As you can see in the table above, Jota offered a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals during his time in the Premier League at Wolves.
The Portugal international racked up 44 goals and 19 assists in 131 matches for the club, including his first season on loan in the Championship, in three years at the Molineux.
That led to interest from Premier League giants Liverpool and a transfer to Anfield that could rise to £45m in total, which represents a significant profit of 275% on the initial £12m that they paid Atletico Madrid for his services in 2018.
This shows that Wolves hit the jackpot on Jota as they got three years of brilliant service out of him, whilst also making a huge profit on the forward by raking in a £45m deal from the Reds.
The Old Gold may hope to keep hold of Cunha when the summer transfer window opens for business, but a big-money move away from the club would represent another fantastic piece of recruitment work done with Atletico Madrid.