Champions League qualification is currently in the hands of Nottingham Forest. They are not on the cusp yet but are in an excellent position with over half of the season complete. The men in Garibaldi Red are third in the Premier League with 44 points, with six points the gap between them and Newcastle United in fifth place.
There have been some exceptional performances from Nuno Espirito Santo’s men this season. Perhaps their best player has been striker Chris Wood, who has 14 goals in 22 Premier League appearances so far this term.
Now, with the January transfer window in full flow, the East Midlands club are targeting attacking reinforcements and could make a shock move for Wolverhampton Wanderers star Matheus Cunha.
Nottingham Forest’s shock Cunha move
If Forest were able to secure the services of Cunha, it would be a surprising deal indeed. According to a report from the Mail, they have the Brazilian ‘at the top of their January shopping list’ and could try and sign him despite interest from other Premier League sides.
It has been another fantastic season for Cunha, as Wolves struggle in the Premier League and are in a fight to save their top-flight status. He has ten goals and four assists in 21 games for the Old Gold this term.
Perhaps’ Cunha’s best game in the 2024/25 campaign came against Fulham in a shock 4-1 win for Wolves at Craven Cottage. He scored twice and grabbed an assist as the West Midlands club got a crucial three points in London.
There is no doubt that this would be a brilliant coup for Forest. Not only would they be signing a proven Premier League star, but they would be bringing in a player from a Midlands rival.
However, there is an argument to suggest they don’t need to make this transfer, with someone at the club already being their own version of Cunha.
Nottingham Forest's very own Matheus Cunha
The player in question here is Forest number 10 Morgan Gibbs-White. The England international also made the move to the City Ground from Molineux, for a hefty fee of £42.5m including add-ons.
It is fair to say that there is no love lost between Gibbs-White and the Wolves fans. They made their feelings known during the most recent clash between the sides at Molineux, which Forest won 3-0. Gibbs-White opened the scoring, and his celebration in front of the Wolves fans said it all, putting his fingers in his ears.
During his time at the City Ground, the England international has really impressed. He has 15 goals and 22 assists in 98 games and has previously been described as a “magician” by football statistician Statman Dave. This term, he has eight goals and assists in the Premier League.
Typically, Gibbs-White has played in behind the striker, Wood, and has formed an exceptional partnership with the New Zealander. They have combined for six goals in 58 games together, in what has proven to be a really fruitful partnership.
This does beg the question of whether Forest need Cunha. It seems unlikely that the Gibbs-White and Wood partnership will be broken, so it is not necessarily obvious where he will fit in.
The statistics via Squawka also show that the Forest man and the Brazilian are not really too dissimilar. For example, Gibbs-White averages 0.6 goals and assists per 90 minutes compared to 0.9 for Cunha, and plays 12.7 forward passes as opposed to Cunha’s 9.3 each game.
Goals
0.3
0.6
Assists
0.3
0.3
Chances created
1.7
2
Forward passes
12.7
9.3
Take-ons completed
1.4
2.1
Forest’s number 10 was valued at £60m as recently as May 2024, showing his importance to Nuno’s side. There is certainly a question as to if they need to sign Cunha based on that, or do the men in Garibaldi Red actually have their answer to the Wolves star, in Gibbs-White.
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