Arsenal & Man Utd target set to snub transfer interest
- Matheus Cunha has impressed during his two years at Wolves
- Arsenal and Man Utd were both keen on signing the 25-year-old forward in January
- Cunha is thought to have agreed to a new long-term contract extension
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha is on the verge of agreeing a new contract, reports claim, in a blow to Arsenal, Manchester United and his many other suitors.
Cunha signed for Wolves on an initial loan when the club were rooted to the foot of the Premier League table midway through the 2022/23 campaign, before joining on a permanent deal worth £44m after helping the club secure safety.
A respectable haul of 12 Premier League goals during his first full season in England - more than Manchester City's Julian Alvarez for comparison - attracted plenty of admiring glances from across the division.
The Brazilian has somehow managed to improve this season despite the club's collective struggles, inspiring firm interest from Arsenal and talk of an approach by Manchester United this January.
However, those clubs have had those ambitions quashed by multiple reports claiming that Cunha has all but agreed to a new, long-term deal at Wolves. The Telegraph write that the forward is in "advanced talks" and an announcement should be made "within the next two weeks".
Fabrizio Romano reports that the contract extension has been verbally agreed and would afford Cunha a salary bump.
Despite the 25-year-old's best efforts - and an unbeaten start to life under incoming manager Vitor Pereira - Wolves remain in the bottom three. Cunha's new deal will reportedly include a relegation break clause, allowing rival clubs to pay a pre-agreed, and so far undisclosed, fee for the forward in the event of demotion.
Pereira made it abundantly clear that he had no intention of sanctioning Cunha's sale during Wolves' fight against the drop. "I hope not, I hope not because we need him," the Portuguese boss admitted at the end of December. "We need his quality."
Wolves will be without Cunha's quality for the next two games. The FA slapped the Brazilian talisman with a ban after an altercation with a member of Ipswich Town's security detail following a post-match brawl. Cunha will sit out Monday night's league encounter against Nottingham Forest and the subsequent FA Cup third-round tie with Bristol City next weekend.
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