FPL new signings: Why Cunha could be a big hit at Man Utd

In one of the first big eye-catching moves of summer 2025, Wolverhampton Wanderers star Matheus Cunha has joined Manchester United for around £62.5m.

Though temperamental at times, the crafty Brazilian has been a solid Fantasy Premier League (FPL) asset over the last two seasons.

In this latest Moving Target article, we’ve looked at Cunha’s career history, his positional versatility and where he might fit in a potentially new-look Red Devils side.

HISTORY

Born in the Brazilian port city of João Pessoa, Cunha started out playing futsal. He spent his youth football years with Coritiba before he joined Swiss side Sion in July 2017.

The then-teenager spent only one season in Switzerland’s Super League but he made 29 appearances (24 starts), scoring 10 goals and assisting eight more.

That earned him a move to RB Leipzig in June 2018. Largely used as a substitute during his time with the Red Bull outfit, he moved on to Hertha Berlin for an 18-month spell.

It was with Hertha, in 2020/21, that Cunha got his first taste of regular first-team football in a top league. He started 25 Bundesliga matches and delivered seven goals plus five assists.

Joining Atletico Madrid for a fee of around €30m in August 2021, he again saw limited game-time. The majority of Cunha’s minutes during his time at the Spanish capital came as a substitute, though he was a relatively effective one at times, delivering six goals and six assists in his debut campaign.

He then made another swap after just under 18 months, this time heading to Wolves on loan for the remainder of 2022/23. That deal became permanent in summer 2023, for a deal worth up to £35m.

CUNHA’S CAREER HISTORY STATS

*Signed for Wolves from Atletico Madrid on January 1st 2023, initially on loan

In his first full season at the Molineux, Cunha scored 12 goals and assisted a further seven in 32 league appearances.

Cunha improved on his own performances in 2024/25 to register a career-high 15 goals and another seven assists in 33 league appearances. Not one of those strikes came from the spot, impressively.

Even more impressive was the fact that his 41 attacking returns over two seasons arrived in a side finishing 14th and 16th.

Last season’s output, from a starting price of just £6.5m, plus a near-tripling of his bonus point tally (from 15 to 41) and some strong underlying statistics as both a striker and creator, landed him a spot on the shortlist for our 2024/25 FPL Team of the Season, too.

It means Cunha – who turned 26 in May – appears to be entering his prime just in time for his northward move to Old Trafford.

WHERE CUNHA PLAYS

While he has most commonly lined up as a centre forward during his career to date, including his maiden campaign at Wolves in 2023/24, Cunha has more recently featured as a no. 10.

Indeed, it is from an attacking midfield/second striker role – in which he often drops deeper and at times wider than a traditional centre forward to exert more influence on the game from a creative standpoint – that Cunha delivered the majority of his attacking returns in 2024/25.

Above: Wolves’ pass map in Gameweek 38, showing Cunha’s position as a left-sided ’10’

It’s in these pockets, usually on the left behind a recognised out-and-out striker like Wolves’ Jørgen Strand Larsen, that he thrives and looked at his most threatening over the course of last season. That could make him a perfect fit at Old Trafford (see below).

Despite having the fourth-highest tally of shots (110) in the Premier League this past season, Cunha did overachieve compared to his expected goals (xG) tally. In large part, that’s down to him not receiving many Opta-defined big chances, as well as scoring a league-high five goals from outside the box.

It has also been highlighted that Cunha spent more of his time on the pitch walking (77%) than any other outfield player in the Premier League in 2024/25. However, one needs to only watch an all-time great playmaker like Lionel Messi at his peak to realise that sometimes taking things in at a slower pace before exploding into life doesn’t necessarily equate to laziness or ineffectiveness.

WHERE CUNHA COULD FIT IN AT MAN UTD

There is, of course, a chance that Ruben Amorim chooses to deploy Cunha as his first-choice centre forward. The versatile Brazilian has been far more productive overall than either Joshua Zirkzee or Rasmus Højlund.

However, there are a few reasons why that may not happen with any regularity. 

First, as discussed, it’d mean Amorim probably isn’t getting the best out of his new charge, by playing him away from his best position. 

Second, it doesn’t solve the problem of replacing the exit-bound duo of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford. Their impending departures will leave the club short on options in the two attacking midfield places in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 line-up, which already look tailor-made for Cunha. 

And third, while United are tied into multi-year deals with Zirkzee and Højlund, they may well still look to offload one (or both) of them this summer in a bid to bring in a more prolific goalscorer. They’ve reportedly already tried to do with the Chelsea-bound Liam Delap.

Instead, it’s surely much more likely that Cunha slots into the left attacking midfield spot behind whoever United’s chosen no. 9 is.

Above: An example of how United could line up with Cunha in the side, before any other new signings arrive

Barring any other newcomers to that area of the pitch (and there’s been some talk of a deal for Bryan Mbeumo as the in-demand Brentford star enters the final year of his contract following his best-ever season), that would probably leave Mason Mount or Bruno Fernandes to play alongside Cunha, assuming both men are still in Manchester come September 1.

Mount and/or Fernandes could also drop deeper still, taking a more attack-minded role in the double pivot alongside one of Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo.

As for where he’ll fit culture-wise, having said previously that he was keen to take a step up and fight for things in his career, a few comparisons have been made to the fiery Eric Cantona’s signing from Leeds United (also aged 26).

FINAL THOUGHTS

Usually, we end a Scout Report/Moving Target with the same question: Is the player worth buying in FPL?

Given that FPL is some way off relaunching for 2025/26, it’s not a particularly pressing dilemma.

The answer may become a little clearer once the Premier League releases the 2025/26 fixture calendar on June 18.

Should United get a kind opening run, it would drastically boost Cunha’s appeal. Admittedly, the Red Devils lost their fair share of matches (18 in total in the league) and were undeniably at their best against the division’s poorest – Southampton, Leicester, Ipswich – or more inconsistent – Wolves, Everton, Fulham – teams.

Still, there’ll be hope that the summer break can act as a bit of a reset. It’ll be the first full pre-season under Amorim, too.

Fixtures aside, Cunha’s price and positional classification will be another factor.

The Brazilian started the 2023/24 season priced at just £5.5m, which rose to £6.5m for the start of 2024/25 and then to £7.0m by the end of the season. 

FPL could now follow the pricing mark-up they used for Dominic Solanke when the English striker moved from Bournemouth to Spurs, which saw him rise from a £6.5m starting price (and £6.9m) end price) in his 2023/24 campaign to £7.5m to begin in 2024/25. Interestingly, that also followed a 22-attacking return season (though Solanke’s came in the form of 19 goals and three assists).

Cunha’s appeal would also be much greater if he were to be reclassified as an FPL midfielder. Given that he only started six games as a centre-forward in 2024/25, that should happen.

A likely loss of penalties and set pieces to Fernandes would appear to be one drawback compared to Cunha’s time at Wolves. But that said, he didn’t actually get a single spot-kick in 2024/25 anyway. There are also some reports that United’s captain and hitherto star player could be considering a shock move away.

All in all, then, we may need a little more information as to the specifics of Cunha’s fixtures, price, position and exact place in United’s frontline. 

But if he’s reasonably priced and given a free-roaming no. 10 role, preferably behind an improved centre-forward, Cunha may be the key man in helping propel the Red Devils back closer to where they once were in the league table – and that could translate into plenty of FPL points.

No European distractions, likely secure for game-time, and – if Fernandes leaves – potentially on set pieces and penalties. There’s a lot to love.

And he’s also proven he can deliver the goods in FPL while playing for a struggling side…

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