Matheus Cunha has distanced himself from rumours of a possible big-money move away from Wolves, insisting he ‘feels at home’ at Molineux.
Wolves have endured an immensely difficult start to the season and are languishing down in 19th place in the Premier League table ahead of their clash with fellow strugglers Ipswich this weekend.
But Cunha has picked up where he left off from an individual perspective this term, racking up seven goals and three assists in the English top flight.
Manchester United and Tottenham are among the teams keeping close tabs on Cunha’s performances and there has been growing speculation that the 25-year-old forward could soon be set for bigger and better things.
But Wolves director of football Matt Hobbs has reportedly ‘promised’ Gary O’Neil that Cunha will not be sold this winter, with the club determined to keep hold of their key players in the face of a possible relegation scrap.
O’Neil will no doubt be relieved to hear that Cunha feels settled and seemingly unfazed by rumours linking him with a January move.
‘I feel like it’s my home,’ Cunha told Wolves’ official website.
‘I feel the admiration of the fans, and this is something that I never believed I would get when I first came here, to a small city in England, which is completely different from my hometown – but now I feel like I’m at home.
‘The fans are unbelievable with me, with my family, and I have only great things to say about my team-mates. But to go to the stadium and to perform for them is like I feel at home.
‘I feel like I want to do everything I can to change the situation, because when you play with a little bit more passion, not as if it was just my work, then I think you put in a little bit more things that can change it.’
Cunha – who has three years remaining on his current contract with Wolves – is confident the club can turn their fortunes around and propel themselves up the table over the coming weeks.
Asked how Wolves can improve their current situation, the Brazil international replied: ‘It’s hard to say because we don’t have the honest or the correct things to say.
‘If it was that easy, we would just do it! Football is much more complex than just going out onto the pitch. When you come here and work every single day, it’s these kinds of things which are important.
‘The fans only look at what happens at the weekends, but what happens during the week is much bigger than this.
‘If we are able to manage these whole things a little bit easier, then we’ll feel better when we go into the weekend, and we’ll be able to go to the pitch and show everyone that we are happy, and then do the best thing that we can do, which is play football.’
Wolves head into Saturday’s contest at home to Ipswich on the back of three straight defeats in the Premier League and Cunha is expecting a ‘war’ against a team experiencing similar difficulties.
‘This moment is not the moment we want it to be. We want to play and then have a lot of dreams to arrive at some points that everyone thinks we have the capacity to be – but football is like this,’ he continued.
‘We need to continue to build something good and try to change the situation.
‘In our situation, it’s almost like every single game is like this. We need to fight, and then you need to show everyone that we have potential to change the situation, and we have the capacity to change the situation. This will never change and this game will not be different.
‘Of course, Ipswich have the same points than us, so it’s also a hard situation for them, but this is kind of game will not be a football game, it will be a war.
‘I need to be like a great warrior and it’s easier to be great warrior when you have the fans around you and the club that you love, so I hope Saturday we can show again everyone that they should have big faith in us to change everything.’
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