Over the past few seasons, Wolverhampton Wanderers have sold some crucial players for big fees. The Old Gold have had some big-name stars since their promotion ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, although many of those have left for pastures anew, with the Midlands side cashing in on a healthy amount of profit.
Three of these major sales for the Molineux club were players who all hail from the same nation, Portugal. The first of that trio to depart was club captain Ruben Neves. He left the club last summer for what was a club record sale of £47m, joining Saudi Arabia side Al-Hilal.
The record sale for the Old Gold was smashed just weeks later, following the departure of another midfielder. Manchester City signed the six-foot-tall Portugal international Matheus Nunes. He made the move from the Midlands to Manchester for a fee in the region of £53m, a last-gasp deal on deadline day.
Just over a year later, another key player departed in the 2024 window. Chelsea signed Pero Neto in a deal worth an initial £51.4m, with a further £2.6m in add-ons taking a potential deal up to £54m.
However, these three players are not the only Portugal internationals to depart Molineux in the past few seasons. The club also sold another prominent star a few seasons prior.
Diogo Jota’s record for Liverpool
The player in question here is Liverpool forward Diogo Jota. The 27-year-old made the move to Merseyside from Molineux in September 2021, for a fee of £41m up front, which had the chance to rise to £45m with potential add-ons.
It was certainly a big sale for the Old Gold. They originally signed Jota on loan from Atletico Madrid, when they were in the Championship. He was a crucial part of their promotion charge in 2018 and took to the Premier League like a duck to water, where his performances earned him a big move to the English giants.
During his time in the Midlands, the Portugal star played 131 times, scoring an impressive 44 goals and registering 19 assists. That included a stellar Championship campaign in 2017/18, where he scored 17 goals and registered six assists in 44 appearances.
It is fair to say that the Liverpool number 20 has thrived at Anfield since making the move. He is two appearances shy of 150 and could reach such a milestone in their Champions League clash against AC Milan at the San Siro.
In his 148 appearances wearing that famous red shirt, the 27-year-old has scored 57 times and grabbed 20 assists. He has shown brilliant versatility and adaptability, playing right across the front line, on either wing and at centre-forward.
The Portugal international, who has 44 caps and 14 goals for his country so far, has played a part in winning two Carabao Cups and an FA Cup for the Reds. Sadly, he missed the 2023/24 Carabao Cup final due to injury.
Last season in the Premier League, the versatile attacker played 21 times, scoring ten goals and registering three assists. He missed 21 games in total last term, due to two separate injuries including a ligament tear in his knee.
Despite the quality he has shown for both Wolves and more recently Liverpool, the 27-year-old was outscored by one star at Molineux last campaign, who could end up following in Jota's footsteps. That player is Matheus Cunha.
Matheus Cunha’s value in 2024
The Brazil international has been a crucial player for the Old Gold since he signed for the club for a fee of £43m in 2023. Like Jota, he made the move from Spanish giants Atleti on a loan deal initially, before his move turned permanent the following summer.
The 25-year-old attacker has been a crucial player for Gary O’Neil’s side over the past 12 months in particular. In 59 games for the Midlands outfit so far, the attacker has 17 goals and nine assists.
Last term, he was superb, and comfortably outscored Wolves’ former attacker Jota in the top-flight. Cunha, who won an Olympic Gold medal at Tokyo 2020, played 32 top-flight games last term, scoring 12 times and registering an impressive seven assists.
One of the biggest strengths of Cunha is the fact he fits O’Neil’s system down to a tee. The English manager sets his side up in a transitional style, looking to play vertical football and get forward as quickly as possible after soaking up pressure.
The Brazilian international is a wonderful ball carrier, perfect for the system O’Neil deploys at Molineux. He was even described as “Henry-esque” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig. Indeed, his ball-carrying numbers are amongst some of the very best in Europe, according to FBref.
The 27-year-old attacker averages 4.12 progressive carries and 2.24 successful take-ons per 90 minutes. Compared to the rest of the attackers in Europe’s big five leagues, that ranks the Brazilian in the top 4% and top 2% respectively.
Stat (per 90)
Number
Percentile among big 5 European Leagues
Progressive carries
4.12
96th
Carries into final third
2.91
98th
Carries into penalty box
1.57
93rd
Take-ons attempted
5.19
98th
Take-ons completed
2.24
98th
It seems fair to say that the attacker is Wolves' most important player. Not only is he so good on the ball, but he is mightily effective in front of goal. His 19 combined goals and assists were more than any other Wolves player in the Premier League last term, as per Sofascore. The next-highest player was Hwang Hee-chan, with 15 goal involvements.
With all that in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that Cunha’s value has spiked since making the move to Molineux. The 27-year-old is now worth a whooping £63.3m, according to a summer report from CaughtOffisde, with that value the price tag Wolves slapped on him if he was to leave Molineux – representing a £20m increase from his initial £43m transfer fee.
It certainly represents a great piece of business from the Old Gold. Not only do they have a superb player on their hands, but would be in for more great profit if they sold him on at some point in the near future – much like in the case of Jota.
For now, though, O’Neil and Wolves will no doubt be desperate for Cunha to maintain the sparkling form he has shown over the past 18 months.
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