Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui is positive Matheus Cunha will be a hit at Molineux despite a stuttering start to life with the Premier League strugglers. The Brazilian, who is initially on loan at Wolves but will join the club on a record fee of £43million in July, is yet to score in his first nine appearances for Wolves since joining from Atletico Madrid in January.
Leeds United have long been linked with a move for Cunha, dating back to his time in the Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin. Nonetheless, a move to Elland Road would not transpire despite Marcelo Bielsa being a reported fan.
The 23-year-old has two assists to his name since moving to Wolves, but spurned a couple of opportunities in the 1-0 defeat to relegation rivals Bournemouth last weekend.
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“He has the skills to do both,” Lopetegui told Birmingham Live following defeat to Newcastle. “He can score and he can create space for his teammates.
"But it’s not about Cunha scoring goals, the responsibility is for all the players. He has the quality to create space for his teammates and score goals.”
Wolves made the decision not to add a more natural centre-forward to Lopetegui’s squad in the January transfer window, despite struggling for goals in recent seasons. Cunha has not been a regular goalscorer so far in his career, and to make matters worse, none of Wolves’ three strikers have scored in the Premier League this season.
On Cunha, Lopetegui aadded: “He is trying to get used to our way of playing and he is working hard like Raul (Jimenez), Diego (Costa) and the rest of the players. Of course I am sure he is going to adapt.
"We want that as soon as possible, because it’s good for him and us, but in the end he is going to be a good player for us.”
Leeds were linked with Cunha once again prior to his move to Wolves from Atletico Madrid, but the steep transfer fee was something the Whites weren't keen on meeting. When asked whether that price-tag had played its part in Cunha's struggles this season, Lopetegui said: “This is footbal. The elite of football has these things. You have to overcome these situations.
"You have to be strong in your mind and show your quality on the pitch. The price is for the economist and the clubs, but it’s not football. We need him now. We don’t think in the future, we don’t have space.”
Leeds travel to Molineux to face Wolves this weekend in another key clash in the battle to avoid the drop into the Championship.
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