Wolverhampton Wanderers entered the international break having secured their first Premier League win of the season.
Gary O’Neil was under a lot of pressure, but goals from Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha ended Wolves’ winless drought. Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel for the young manager.
He has a wonderful squad of players available to him. Now they have to kick on and go on a winning run which will move them away from the drop zone.
In Cunha, in particular, they have a player very much at the peak of his powers.
Matheus Cunha’s season in numbers
Without the Brazilian, who knows where the Old Gold would be? This season, he has scored five goals and grabbed two assists in the Premier League.
Not just content with scoring, Cunha has also created an impressive nine big chances in the top flight, while averaging 1.9 key passes and succeeding with 1.8 dribbles per game, showcasing his talents across a variety of attacking metrics.
The former Atlético Madrid star is certainly one of O’Neil’s key performers on the field. Without him, Wolves may have struggled even more than what they currently are.
If he keeps performing like this, there will be no shortage of admirers when the January window opens.
The Molineux side did have a player under Bruno Lage who struggled to live up to his potential, yet he is currently starring for his club this season and even outperforming Cunha…
The former Wolves star who's outperforming Cunha
In the summer of 2021, Lage signed Portuguese winger Trincao on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona in a bid to improve his attacking department.
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Former technical director Scott Sellars dubbed the youngster as a “really exciting player” upon his arrival, while comparisons were even made between himself and compatriot, Pedro Neto, as per his former coach, Vitor Castanheira:
As it proved, however, the youngster failed to hit such heights at Molineux. In 30 games in all competitions, he scored just three times while chipping in with a solitary assist. It wasn’t the greatest of loan spells, that’s for sure.
Two years later, however, Trincao is shining for Sporting CP this term as they bid to make it back-to-back league titles.
In 18 games for his club so far, the 24-year-old has scored three goals and registered a mammoth nine assists, meaning he has recorded five more goal contributions than Cunha.
Metric
Cunha
Trincao
Goals
5
3
Assists
3
8
Big chances created
9
8
Key passes per game
1.9
2.5
Total shots per game
2.8
3.8
Successful dribbles per game
1.8
3.3
Domestically, the winger has created eight big chances, averaged 2.5 key passes and succeeded with 3.3 dribbles per game, underlining how vital he is to their cause.
He is certainly thriving away from the pressures of La Liga or the Premier League, emerging as a vital cog in the wheel of Ruben Amorim’s Sporting side.
Amorim has now departed, joining Manchester United as their new manager. What will this mean for Trincao?
Only time will tell, but if he keeps performing to these current levels, then there is no doubt that plenty of interest will be shown in him when the transfer window opens in a few weeks.
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