This season at Wolves has been pleasantly surprising considering the chaos of last summer – but one Molineux star might be feeling a tad disappointed.
Wanderers have one final game against Liverpool on Sunday, and Gary O’Neil is hoping to see his side finish with a flourish.
Results have not been good in recent weeks as injuries have had a big impact on the team.
Momentum completely halted, and fatigue has really started to set in lately as a result of the squad being so small.
The FA Cup quarter-final defeat seemed to really knock the stuffing out of Wolves, and it is a shame to have seen the campaign peter out.
But perspective is required. Wolves have still done really well considering what happened last summer.
One man who’ll potentially be a little frustrated though is Matheus Cunha…
Matheus Cunha set to fall just short of Raul Jimenez goal contributions tally for Wolves in 2019/20
Matheus Cunha is one of many players who have gone to a new level under O’Neil this season.
The Brazilian struggled a bit when he first arrived, and did not look anything too special under Julen Lopetegui. But O’Neil has really gotten a tune out of him, and he has been one of Wolves’ best players this term.
He may well have run Mario Lemina quite close for the Supporters’ Player of the Season award.
But potentially, the hamstring injury he picked up in February may well have cost him.
It seems that that ‘significant’ setback has cost Cunha a chance to make history for Wolves.
At the moment, the Brazilian is sitting on 12 Premier League goals and seven assists for the 2023/24 campaign (via Premier League).
That haul of 19 contributions is the second-highest ever by a Wolves player in a single Premier League campaign. The man who has the highest number? That would be Raul Jimenez, who managed an amazing 23 contributions (17 goals and six assists) back in the 2019/20 season.
So, Cunha needs four contributions from Wolves’ final game against Liverpool at Anfield to tie the Mexican. That will certainly be a tall order, as it’s one of the hardest places to get a result in the division.
Injury may have cost Cunha a place in the Wolves history books
Cunha sustaining the injury he did, when he did, was so unfortunate.
He was showing the best form he had since arriving at the club, and looked like he was going to lead Wolves to European football.
The hat-trick against Chelsea was brilliant, and he was full of confidence.
But in the very next game against Brentford, the £44 million star got injured. He would then miss the next five Premier League games for Wolves. He returned against Burnley on April 2, but only came off the bench for a cameo. He then came off the bench in the next game against West Ham United, clearly lacking match sharpness.
It is reasonable to suggest that, had Cunha not gotten injured, then he may well have threatened that goal contributions tally set by Jimenez in 2019/20.
The South American was in such good form, and it was truly a shame he had his momentum halted like that.