Will Wolves avoid Premier League relegation?
Recent victories over Aston Villa and Bournemouth mean Vítor Pereira’s team are currently five points clear of the drop zone.
However, a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Fulham means Wolverhampton Wanderers have lost six of their eight league outings since the start of 2025, meaning they very much remain in danger.
On Saturday night, the Old Gold will welcome Everton to Molineux, but will have to face that clash, as well as upcoming games against Southampton, West Ham and Ipswich without their star man, so will they be made to rue selling a player now starring in Serie A?
The latest on Matheus Cunha's ban
Matheus Cunha has scored 15 goals this season, 13 of which have come in the Premier League, meaning only six players have scored more than him, namely Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak, Chris Wood, Bryan Mbeumo and Cole Palmer. Not bad company to keep.
During last weekend’s FA Cup tie at Bournemouth, however, in which Wolves were ousted on penalties, Cunha equalised with an absolute rocket, before being sent off right at the end of extra time for headbutting Miloš Kerkez, which Will Magee of the Guardian described as a ‘complete headloss’.
Cunha has already been sent off this season, dismissed after the full-time whistle for ‘scuffling’ with a member of Ipswich Town’s staff in December, infamously stealing his glasses, a ban reduced to two matches given that he ‘offered to pay for a new pair’.
Nevertheless, given that this is the Brazilian’s second red card of the campaign, Cunha is set for a four-match ban, thereby unable to feature until 12 April, which is a massive blow, considering his importance to Wolves.
Cunha has 17 league goal involvements to his name this season, Jørgen Strand Larsen has the next most of any Wolves player with nine, so how does he compare to the rest of the Premier League’s best?
Salah
25
17
42
63.64%
Isak
19
5
24
52.17%
Haaland
20
3
23
43.40%
Wood
18
3
21
47.73%
Palmer
14
6
20
36.46%
Mbeumo
15
4
19
39.58%
Watkins
12
6
18
45%
Cunha
13
4
17
45.95%
Kluivert
12
5
17
37.78%
As the table shows, only Chris Wood, Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah, who Alex Keble believes is having ‘the best Premier League season in history’, have contributed to a higher percentage of their team’s goals than Cunha.
Thus, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Wolves struggle to score goals in the Brazilian’s absence, but did they have a ready-made deputy in their squad, allowed to leave in 2022?
Forgotten Wolves striker in form in Serie A
Back in the summer of 2019, having qualified for the Europa League, Wolves signed AC Milan striker Patrick Cutrone for a fee that could rise to £20m, a deal that then sporting director Kevin Thelwell described as an “exciting signing”.
“Patrick is an exciting signing at a very exciting period for this football club. We have a strong philosophy under the leadership of Nuno [Espirito Santo, Wolves boss] of bringing in the right type of people and developing young talent while staying humble and grounded as individuals, and we feel Patrick perfectly fits into our philosophy.”
Fair to say, this move did not go to plan, given that Cutrone scored just three goals in 28 appearances, quickly loaned out to Fiorentina before, following brief stints at Valencia and Empoli, joining Como, then of Serie B, on a free transfer in 2022.
Having been born and raised in Como, Cutrone described it as a ‘real honour’ to ‘play and represent the club of my city’ adding ‘as soon as I heard about Como, I had no doubts it was the right move’.
I Lariani finished mid-table during Cutrone’s first campaign at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, before gaining promotion to Serie A for the first time since 2003 last season, with Cutrone their top-scorer, bagging 14 goals.
Now, Cesc Fàbregas’ side are establishing themselves in the top flight; I Biancoblù currently sit 13th in the Serie A table, with Cutrone having scored seven times this season, most notably bagging a brace against Hellas Verona.
James Horncastle of the Athletic believes Cutrone has now rediscovered the form he showed back when he was a teenager who ‘burst on the scene’ at AC Milan eight years ago, so will Wolves live to rue letting the Italian striker go, especially at a time when they’re without Cunha? He may well have been the perfect deputy in his absence.
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