Nottingham Forest’s interest in Wolves’ Matheus Cunha is well documented but the latest twist in the saga will have left Evangelos Marinakis in shock.
Forest were linked with Cunha on Wednesday to the delight of onlooking Forest fans, who will be hoping the deal can be finalised given that Marinakis wants to sign a striker in January.
Wolves are desperate to keep Cunha but their position just above the Premier League drop zone means that a player of Cunha’s quality will always be of interest to those higher in the divisionWith Nuno Espirito Santo’s side chasing a previously unthinkable Champions League qualification this season, Forest are ready to break their transfer record on Cunha to help secure the finish that their form warrants.The key stumbling block for Forest is Cunha’s preference for a move to Arsenal, supported by Mikel Arteta admitting that Arsenal are ‘actively looking’ for a striker in January just as Forest are.
However, another issue may have arisen in the pursuit of Cunha as a result of what Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has said about his striker’s future.
Vitor Pereira reveals private conversations with Matheus Cunha
Speaking ahead of Wolves’ clash with Arsenal on Saturday, Pereira expectedly couldn’t avoid the Cunha rumours, with the press pushing him for an update on his star man.
Pereira said that he “had a conversation” with the Brazilian, in which Cunha convinced the coach that he is “very committed” to Wolves.Given that Wolves lowered their asking price for Cunha to £60m, the club is evidently planning for bids for their talisman. However, given that Pereira has stated that Cunha will be involved in some aspect against Arsenal, they mustn’t have had to seriously consider an approach thus far.
Espirito Santo was asked about Cunha in his pre-match press conference two, delivering a cagey response that backs up Pereira’s current confidence in keeping the striker.
If Cunha is genuinely committed to staying at Wolves for now, Forest may have to turn their attention to one of the other strikers linked to the club in the meantime.
Nottingham Forest have other options besides Matheus Cunha
Cunha wasn’t the first attacker to be linked with the City Ground in January. Most notable was Forest’s interest in Yoane Wissa, who would provide a different profile to Cunha but similar levels of Premier League experience.
Brentford rejected Forest’s opening bid for Wissa but there has been little indication that Forest have ended their interest in the Congolese striker.
It was also reported that Brentford would listen to bids for Wissa, making the deal potentially easier than a move for Cunha.
Forest have remained interested in Santiago Gimenez too after he initially rejected a move to join the Forest squad in the summer, emphasising that Marinakis has kept his options wide open.
Given the willingness to offer a club-record fee for Cunha, he is likely the Forest owner’s top target, but if Pereira is right about the committedness of the Brazilian, there are plenty of other options waiting to be turned to.
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