Cost £9.8m, now worth more than Cunha: Wolves have found a new superstar
da brwin： Wolverhampton Wanderers are edging closer to Premier League safety.
da bet esporte： On Saturday night, Wolves held Everton to a 1-1 draw at Molineux, with new signing Marshall Munetsi equalising soon after the Toffees had broken the deadlock.
The 28-year-old, who arrived from Reims in January, became the third Zimbabwean to score in the Premier League, after Peter Ndlovu of Coventry City and Benjani of Portsmouth, Man City and Blackburn.
More importantly, Vítor Pereira’s team are now six points clear of the relegation zone, very much looking to increase that gap further when they visit bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Saturday.
So, while Wolves continue to battle to maintain their Premier League status, both in the immediate future but also long-term, they’re searching for bargains in the transfer market, and they certainly struck gold with one star in particular.
His value has exponentially increased by over 200% since he first set foot in the Black Country and he could well be as important as a a certain Matheus Cunha.
Matheus Cunha: Wolves' biggest asset in 2025
Few would argue with Tim Spires of the Athletic’s assertion that Cunha is Wolves’ most important player, stating ‘it’s all about [him], even when he’s not playing’.
The Brazilian’s contribution is undeniable, as the table below highlights.
PL players (24/25) with 16+ goals & assists
Players
Goals
Assists
G + A
% of team goals
Salah
27
17
44
63.77%
Isak
19
5
24
51.06%
Haaland
20
3
23
43.40%
Wood
18
3
21
46.67%
Palmer
14
6
20
37.74%
Mbeumo
15
4
19
39.58%
Watkins
13
6
19
46.34%
Kluivert
12
6
18
38.30%
Cunha
13
4
17
44.74%
Son
7
9
16
29.10%
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com
As the table outlines, only Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Chris Wood and Ollie Watkins have been directly involved in a higher percentage of their team’s goals this season than Cunha, which is far from ideal considering he’s just commenced a four-match suspension.
Wolves may struggle to keep hold of the Brazilian striker come the summer, with reports emerging that Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta is eager to finalise a move,
Nevertheless, while Cunha continues to get all the headlines, another Wolves star has been impressive too, leading to his market value increasing exponentially since he signed.
Wolves' rising star is worth even more than Cunha
Rayan Aït-Nouri joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Angers in 2020, initially on loan, before the move was made permanent for a reported fee of £9.5m a year later.
Then-technical director Scott Sellars described him as “a very talented player, with lots of potential” and this assertion has certainly been proven right.
The 23-year-old has now made 147 appearances in Old Gold, accumulating 11 goals and 13 assists, pretty impressive tallies for a struggling side from full-back.
His Premier League performances have also earned international recognition; French-born, he switched his allegiance to Algeria two years ago, starting all three of the Desert Foxes’ fixtures at the most recent Africa Cup of Nations in Bouaké.
Meantime, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout describes his displays for Wolves as ‘fantastic’, Steve Madeley of the Athletic labels him ‘Wolves’ most indispensable player’, while Jonathan Liew of the Guardian outlines how he has become one of the best wing-backs in the Premier League.
As a result, many of the Premier League’s richest clubs appear to be keen on securing Aït-Nouri’s services, with Liverpool holding a vested interest late last year and Ruben Amorim’s Man United also looking at him.
Well, he certainly won’t come cheap; Transfermart believe his current value to be around £30m, representing a 206% increase from when Wolves signed him, while reports from Spain claim Wolves value ‘one of the most interesting left-backs’ at a humungous £65m. For context, that’s an even bigger price tag than Cunha’s £62m release clause.
All of this is to underline the fact Wolves absolutely struck gold by signing Aït-Nouri for less than £10m four years ago.
Related Wolves have found an irreplaceable star who's the next Vitinha & Neves
Wolves have been crying out for somebody in the mould of Ruben Neves.
