“Perfect” £62m star wants to sign for Liverpool

Liverpool have lost themselves over the past several weeks, crashing out of the Champions League and then losing the Carabao Cup final before the March international break.

Having returned from the spring pause to claim a tetchy but lifting win in the Merseyside derby, fans felt that Arne Slot’s side had replanted their feet ahead of the business months of the season, using the three points gained as a springboard.

However, errors were rife on Sunday as Liverpool fell to defeat at Craven Cottage and Slot was condemned to his first Premier League defeat on the road.

Still, it’s not all bad, the Reds are still 11 points clear at the top of the division, set to end four years of Manchester City dominance. All that without having dipped into the transfer market for nearly two years.

Indeed, the £12.5m signing of Federico Chiesa remains the only deal struck since Ryan Gravenberch arrived in 2023. Somehow, Slot, in all his tactical genius, has taken Liverpool to the next level, despite the frontline leaving something to be desired at times.

Liverpool’s frontline in 24/25

Liverpool ended the 2024 summer transfer window having failed to sign their top target in Martin Zubimendi and adding only injury-prone Chiesa to an already well-stocked frontline.

The squad is rather fantastic, but Slot deserves all the plaudits for making the requisite, title-clinching adjustments.

The architect of all attacking success would be Mohamed Salah, of course. The 32-year-old has posted 32 goals and 22 assists across all competitions and is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in both Liverpool and English football’s history.

Salah has been nothing short of breathtaking this season, but there’s no denying he’s plateaued in recent fixtures. However, frankly, this is an annual thing, the dreaded spring drop-off, and he deserves a place in the team next season as Liverpool go again.

Still, Liverpool have been brilliant in attack, top of the Premier League and having scored the most goals (72) too. They’ve all chipped in, with the likes of Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo both going from strength

Streamlined into a more focused left-flanking role, Gakpo has matched his haul of 16 goals and six assists from last season having played just under 800 minutes fewer, equating to nearly nine full matches.

However, it’s not all perfect. Darwin Nunez is set to be sold this summer, while Diogo Jota looks a shadow of his former self. Such departures would in turn create one or two exciting vacancies.

Liverpool need something new, and sporting director Richard Hughes may well have the perfect Premier League star in mind.

PL star wants to sign for Liverpool

Last week, TEAMtalk claimed that Liverpool have made contact with Matheus Cunha’s representatives ahead of a potential summer move. The Wolverhampton Wanderers forward’s £62.5m release clause goes live after the end of the 2024/25 season and he wants a move away.

Excitingly, Football Insider have recently reported that the Brazil international is hoping to sign for Liverpool. All FSG need to do is match that release clause.

However, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest are also keen and Liverpool need to ensure this one doesn’t slip away from them, should their interest truly be concrete.

What Matheus Cunha would bring to Liverpool

Cunha has been at Wolves for over two years, joining in January 2023 on an initial loan from Atletico Madrid before signing permanently for an approximate £35m fee.

He’s long been highly regarded in England, but the Brazilian’s performances for Wolves this term have really underlined the level of his ability, notching 15 goals and four assists across 29 matches.

Though he shares similar positional virtues to the likes of Diaz and Gakpo, Cunha’s dynamism would be sure to see him marry right into Slot’s complex and multi-layered vision.

Quite the versatile approach, eh. What’s more, Cunha is proving to be a prolific player across those variegated roles, his technical flair and dogged attitude lending itself to numerous areas of attack.

He’s also playing for Wolves. Good team, resilient and balanced under the wing of Vitor Pereira. However, the Old Gold hardly boast Liverpool’s degree of offensive ability, and one can only imagine the success that Cunha could find in Slot’s system.

Especially when you consider that he’s sort of outstripping Liverpool’s left-sided forwards, Gakpo and Diaz, this term.

There’s a lot to unpack in that table, but it’s curious to note at a glance that Cunha has outscored both of Liverpool’s men while carrying the ball forward more frequently, getting stuck in with more challenges too.

All told, he’s a “versatile pressing machine” – in the words of reporter Kaustubh Pandey – who has refined his potency in the final third at an outfit not exactly known for its attacking output right now.

Indeed, Wolves have created 51 big chances in the Premier League this year, well behind Slot’s Liverpool (89 big chances created). In fact, no team has created more than the table-toppers.

But it doesn’t matter when Cunha is so extraordinarily clinical. He’s missed only two big chances in the league this year. Two. That’s having scored 13 goals. You can refer back to the table to see how that compares to Liverpool’s stars, but it’s clear to see that the deadliest of the bunch dwells not at Anfield but in Black Country.

He’s also been hailed for his “perfect” deliveries by The Athletic’s Steve Madeley. Another string to the bow.

He wouldn’t come cheap, but Cunha could fit snugly into an interchangeable Anfield frontline and provide Liverpool with that bit of incisiveness in front of goal to ease Salah’s responsibilities and ensure that Slot’s side fire on all cylinders into the later stages of the season.

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