He could replace Cunha & Ait-Nouri: Wolves weigh up bid for exciting winger

After a lightning-quick start out of the blocks as Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, Vitor Pereira has struggled to get his team firing on all cylinders again.

An unbeaten start to life as Wolves manager saw wins against Manchester United and Leicester City clinched, but the Old Gold are now without a victory from their last three Premier League clashes, as Pereira and Co continue to look at the relegation spaces anxiously.

To make matters worse, the future of their main star Matheus Cunha is seemingly now up in the air, as the Portuguese manager attempts everything in his might to stop the wheels from falling off.

Matheus Cunha's future at Wolves

As per fresh reports, Nottingham Forest are now eyeing up the standout Brazilian with the likes of Arsenal also waiting in the wings ready to pounce as Cunha debates penning a new deal at Molineux or uprooting to a flashier side.

Criticised for his poor body language by journalist Liam Keen during his team’s latest dismal defeat to Chelsea, it does feel as if it could be a losing battle for Wolves to keep their sensational South American situated in the West Midlands long-term.

Losing such an important part of the jigsaw would be an obvious blow for the relegation-threatened side to come to terms with.

Indeed, Cunha has tallied up a ridiculous 14 goal contributions in the league this season, but it doesn’t have to be completely earth-shattering.

Wolves target potential Cunha replacement

Instead, Pereira could look towards other exciting attackers available on the market to try and fill Cunha’s potential void, with one target a fascinating watch when at the top of his game.

As per a report by Portuguese outlet O Jogo – which has been relayed by Sport Witness – Wolves are considering making an offer to sign Sporting ace Geny Catamo this January as Pereira looks to boost his side’s wide options.

The exciting number 21 is also being looked at by Wolves’ near neighbours Aston Villa, on top of also garnering interest from the likes of Genoa and Udinese over in Italy. For the Old Gold boss’ sake, he’ll hope the full-throttle winger / wing-back – who can play on the left or the right – chooses Molineux as his next onward destination.

After all, Catamo – much like Cunha – has caught the eye this season in Portugal with his knack for coming up trumps in crucial moments, with an emphatic finish above gifting his side the win against arch-rivals Benfica back in December.

In total, the Mozambique international has four goals and four assists next to his name this season for his current employers, which isn’t overly mindblowing when weighed up next to Cunha’s jaw-dropping numbers.

Nevertheless, this would still be a vital addition, notably because not only could Catamo feature further forward, thus replacing Cunha, but his ability to feature as a wing-back could also make him a viable replacement for Rayan Ait-Nouri who also continues to be linked away.

As can be seen by glancing at the table above, Wolves are slightly over-reliant on Cunha and in some part to Ait-Nouri to deliver the goods.

Thus, while losing the pair of them would initially sting, Wolves have been here before with Pedro Neto and Ruben Neves and managed to survive. Key additions such as Catamo on the flanks could potentially soften the blow on this occasion.

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By
Joe Nuttall

Jan 22, 2025