Wolverhampton Wanderers have found life without their former star man, Matheus Cunha, to be torture so far this season.
Vitor Pereira’s Old Gold remain winless at the very foot of the Premier League, with just five goals next to their name from seven dismal matches, further reinforcing the hole left behind by the enigmatic Brazilian.
While Cunha tries to get up to speed with proceedings at his new club, Manchester United, Pereira will be tearing his hair out about how to kickstart Wolves’ season.
He does have Jorgen Strand Larsen, whom he can call upon in attack, with the Nordic centre-forward showing that he can score goals for fun when in the right mood at Molineux.
What makes Strand Larsen Wolves' best Cunha replacement
The 25-year-old striker impressed so much last season when firing home goals regularly that he penned a new long-term Old Gold contract in the summer, which keeps him at the West Midlands club until 2029.
As a result, it kept at bay suitors in the form of Newcastle who lodged what felt like several bids to tempt the hulking forward to St James’ Park.
It’s very clear why they wanted to tie him down to such a long-term contract, considering Cunha sadly exited the building, with Larsen helping himself to a clinical 14 goals in the last campaign to ensure Wolves stayed afloat for another season in the big time.
Yet, even as he began to adopt the tag of being Wolves’ main spark up top heading into the 2025/26 season, the ex-Celta Vigo striker has struggled to get going, largely because of injuries, leaving his team stuck at the foot of the tough league.
Larsen might well have two strikes next to his name in the EFL Cup, but he’s currently going through a barren streak in the bread and butter of league action, with no goals from five games, having amassed just 23.8 touches on average per clash.
Pereira could well be tempted to spruce things up in attack moving forward, with the Portuguese boss perhaps looking to the next generation coming through at Molineux to unearth a new Cunha in the making.
Wolves academy star could be the new Cunha
Pereira won’t want to just ditch the 22-time Norway international for good. Rather, he could be tempted to switch up the formation to bring in a partner for Larsen to bounce off
That player could be summer recruit Tolu Arokodare but if Pereira was thinking more outside of the box, he might also be tempted to experiment.
That’s where Wolves U21 sensation Mateus Mane comes into the equation. The Wolves boss labelled the rising talent as “special” back in May, long before his red-hot vein of form in the Premier League 2 this season.
Just one glance at the England U18 international’s numbers this campaign shows you why he’s so highly regarded in Wolves circles, with a sublime four goals and four assists coming his way from just nine outings in all competitions.
While Cunha was more well-known for his lethal edge in front of goal at Molineux, he did also have an eye for an assist, with 15 collected from 92 Wolves first-team appearances.
Evidently, Mane also possesses a similar hunger for creativity, away from finishing off chances confidently as an “instinctive” forward presence, as he was once labelled by analyst Ben Mattinson.
CF
16
7 + 5
AM
6
3 + 2
RW
3
2 + 2
The similarities to the former Wolves’ fan favourite don’t end there, either, with the teenage sensation also capable of playing all across the forward positions, away from just causing panic to the defenders solely in the centre-forward position.
While the South American superstar did shine as a lone striker, too, he also didn’t look out of place when lining up as a number ten or as a winger if needed, with a remarkable four goals coming his way from just four games as a left winger option for the Old Gold.
For the time being, considering their lowly status, it might be deemed a step too far to push Mane into the senior fold.
But, at some point, Pereira will surely be tempted to gamble with the 18-year-old ace – considering he already has one men’s appearance to his name – as he attempts to fill the Cunha-shaped void.
