Matheus Cunha fits the profile of player sorely needed at Manchester United, says Gary Neville
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has weighed in on the club’s pursuit of Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, saying that the club are now “desperate” in wide and forward positions following the departures or sidelining of key players.
Ruben Amorim’s side no longer have natural ball carriers, which is a key reason why they have been struggling for goals, according to the former United right back.
“They’re desperate in that position,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “You think of what Manchester United are playing now, they’ve let Jadon Sancho go, they’ve let Marcus Rashford go, they’ve let Antony go, so three players who are natural players who travel with the ball.”
Alejandro Garnacho continues to feature regularly, but Neville noted that the team has become “lopsided” without a balanced threat from both flanks. Amad Diallo, who was also a flank player for United, sustained a long-term injury in February.
United have played with several options on the left, including Joshua Zirkzee and Bruno Fernandes but neither of those two are well suited to providing consistent output in wide areas.
Mason Mount has played there when fit, but Neville believes that the squad needs “someone who can beat players” and “someone who’s equally as good running through the middle with the ball and travelling with the ball, and go out wide and support the wing-back.”
The former United right back then said that a player like Cunha could fit the bill and provide that dynamism for Amorim.
“He’s a type of player that you could see Manchester United being interested in, that would suit this system that Ruben Amorim wants to play,” Neville added.
“They’ve lost three players who play in that type of position, so they need to fill that. They’ll need to fill those roles definitely or else they’re going to struggle.
“They need to score goals. Ruben Amorim said at the weekend we’re just struggling to score goals, so you need players who can take risks, [who are] good in the final third, and Cunha’s got a lot of ability.”
