TalkSPORT reporter shares what 'senior' sources are saying about Matheus Cunha joining Nottingham Forest
01/25/2025 05:05 AM
Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Matheus Cunha has become even more complicated given the latest update on the Wolves man’s chances of leaving in January.
It’s only been a matter of days since the news first broke of Forest’s interest in Cunha, but there have already been plenty of twists in the story.
Forest are preparing a club-record bid for Cunha even with the knowledge that Wolves have said that Cunha isn’t for sale in the January window.
Then came the added complication of competition for the Brazilian’s signature, as Cunha prefers a move to Arsenal ahead of joining Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. Mikel Arteta has hinted that Arsenal will pursue Cunha which made the deal seem impossible for Forest.
Another twist quickly followed though as Wolves set a £60m price tag on Cunha, which was a significantly lower fee than the previously reported £80m, keeping Evangelos Marinakis and Forest in the running.
Expectedly, though, the saga has taken yet another turn, with senior sources at Wolves now reporting their feelings about keeping hold of their star man.
Senior Wolves sources break silence on Matheus Cunha rumours
Relayed through journalist Alex Crook on talkSPORT’s Transfer Notebook show, sources within Wolves seem reasonably confident that they’ll retain the services of Cunha in January.
Crook said: “They [Forest] have been credited with an interest in Matheus Cunha at Wolves. I think that interest is genuine but they’re not particularly confident that they can do a deal for Cunha this month.
“I spoke to someone senior at Wolves a couple of days ago and they said we’re relaxed about this situation, he’s got two and a half years left on his contract. The reason we put a new deal on the table is to reward him for what he’s done this season […] but if he doesn’t sign it, we’re still not going to sell him in this window.”
In what was clearly a difficult blow for Forest, Wolves’ stance on a potential deal for Cunha is to be expected given his importance to their side.
Vitor Pereira claimed Cunha was committed to Wolves in his pre-match press conference on Friday and whether that’s true or not isn’t particularly relevant if Wolves don’t feel any pressure to sell the striker.
It seems as if it would take an almighty push from Cunha himself to disrupt the atmosphere at Wolves to see him at the City Ground in January, something that may actually put off the Forest owner when analysing his comments at the start of the window.
Evangelos Marinakis’ previous comments may impact Matheus Cunha deal
Speaking at the start of the transfer window, Marinakis made his feelings pretty clear about how he wanted the January period to play out.
Marinakis prioritised the harmony of the Forest squad in January, so welcoming Cunha in circumstances such as the Brazilian refusing to play for his current club may go against these priorities.
It became no secret that Marinakis wants to sign a striker for Forest but the remarkable form of Espirito Santo’s side is partly down to the harmony within the Forest squad, something that could be risked with the wrong incoming.
On the pitch, Cunha would absolutely improve the squad available to Espirito Santo with his ten Premier League goals supplying the added goals needed to support Chris Wood up front.
However, Marinakis must think incredibly hard about whether to risk going back on his comments at the start of the window for the sake of the extra goals Cunha would provide.
