Wolverhampton Wanderers are on track to remain in the Premier League next season, currently six points clear of 17th-place Ipswich Town.
Vitor Pereira’s arrival was a timely one and, with another few positive results, he can start planning ahead for next season.
He will be desperate to keep Matheus Cunha, however, as the Brazilian has played a key role in trying to maintain the Old Gold’s top flight status this season.
Mathues Cunha's impressive season in numbers
Cunha impressed during his first full season at Molineux during 2023/24, scoring 14 goals for the club as they avoided the drop and hopes were high ahead of the current campaign.
During 2024/25, he’s been nothing short of mesmeric in the final third with the 25-year-old having found the back of the net 15 times in 29 games, recording four assists in the process.
He has scored against Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, proving he is a man for the big occasion.
Furthermore, Cunha averages 3.3 shots per game in the top flight, along with creating 12 big chances and averaging 1.7 key passes per game for Wolves.
These statistics prove that not only can the Brazilian score regularly, but he loves creating chances for his teammates.
So, it was a pitty when he got himself sent off against Bournemouth in the FA Cup for an altercation with left-back Milos Kerkez.
Still, despite that incident, he’s been a fair bit better than a player Gary O’Neil cashed in on last summer.
Wolves struck gold selling Pedro Neto
Pedro Neto’s final season in the Midlands was a positive one to say the least. A tally of 14 goal involvements was enough for Chelsea to swoop in the summer, securing his signature for a fee in the region of £54m, a remarkable 260% increase on the £15m price-tag they initially snapped him up for.
This gave O’Neil some flexibility in the transfer market, but losing someone of Neto’s quality was always going to be a major blow to their hopes of surviving, particularly as the former boss rated him so highly.
“I have always liked him. His attitude and approach since I have been here has been top notch. I can’t speak highly enough of him at the minute, I think he has been incredible.”
So, how does the Portuguese compare with a man who could be Wolves’ next big sale?
Goals
13
3
Assists
4
4
Big chances created
12
6
Shots per game
3.3
1.4
Key passes per game
1.7
1.2
Successful dribbles per game
1.9
1
Well, a return of five goals and seven assists in 32 matches certainly isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but the former Lazio man has started just 22 games all season.
In the Premier League, Neto has created six big chances, averaging 1.2 key passes per game while averaging only 1.4 shots per game. These numbers are worse than what Cunha is registering in the top flight this season.
Elsewhere, Neto ranks only in the top 42% for successful take-ons (1.5), in the top 35% for touches in the opposition penalty area (5.06) and in the top 41% for shot-creating actions (3.68) when compared to his peers in the Premier League this season.
Based on these statistics, it is evident that Cunha is enjoying a more productive season, while Wolves have certainly struck gold by selling the Portuguese talent for such a lavish fee last year.
Pereira can ease Cunha blow & unleash Wolves' "perfect modern forward"
Wolves are without their star man this weekend
ByJoe NuttallMar 8, 2025