Joe is a feature writer who has been working in sports media for a year.
Since graduating from UCFB Etihad Campus in 2023, where he studied multimedia sports journalism, Joe spent 18 months as a freelance social media assistant for Statman Dave.
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Despite picking up an injury a few weeks ago, new Manchester United number ten Matheus Cunha has made a positive start to life at Old Trafford.
The 26-year-old has only played seven games for the club so far, missing the Manchester derby defeat away at the Etihad with the hamstring issue he had earlier in the season.
He’s yet to score or assist, but his impact in the final third has been felt. He’s created seven chances so far, and averaged 1.4 per 90 minutes. He certainly shone on debut against Arsenal.
The Brazil international has performed well for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the international break this month.
Cunha’s form for Brazil
With the form he showed for Wolverhampton Wanderers throughout his time at Molineux, it was always going to be a matter of time before Cunha became a regular in the national team.
After making his debut back in 2021, he broke into the side as a key player earlier in 2025.
The 26-year-old is currently away with Brazil on international duty. In their recent game against continued his excellent form for Selecao, where he managed to score and assist in four games this calendar year.
Well, he added to that tally, which is now three goal involvements in five games, after he assisted Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior against South Korea in a 5-0 win.
Playing as a centre-forward for Ancelotti’s team, he managed 44 touches, created three chances and won four from seven ground duels.
Cunha vs. South Korea
Stat
Number
Touches
44
Pass accuracy
83%
Passes in oppostion half
16/21
Ground duels won
4/7
Ball recoveries
3
Chances created
3
Assists
1
Stats from Sofascore
The 26-year-old has a good relationship with Los Blancos star Vinicius. The pair have played together 11 times for the national team, combining for two goals in that time.
Both of those came in the last two games they played alongside each other in that famous Yellow shirt.
With Cunha’s form threatening to explode for United, too, it will be encouraging for Ruben Amorim that he has a howgrown version of the Brazilian brewing.
United’s homegrown Cunha
United have some incredibly exciting academy players. They’ve produced some sensational talents over the years, and currently on the books, some rising stars can eventually fit that mould.
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
It is no secret just how talented 15-year-old forward JJ Gabriel is, with the Red Devils academy diamond tipped for a huge career ahead of him.
Yet, he is not the academy star who could be the homegrown Cunha. Instead, that is Samuel Lusale, an 18-year-old winger who moved to Old Trafford last summer from Crystal Palace. He’s already impressed for the academy sides.
In 22 games for the Red Devils under-18s side for far, Lusale has scored once and assisted seven times. This season in particular, the Slovakia under-19 international has been on fire, with four assists and one goal in five U18 Premier League games.
His run of form has been largely unstoppable. The 18-year-old, who was born in Guilford, has only failed to score or assist once, coming against Burnley. He gave Wolves a nightmare, grabbing two goal involvements in a 4-0 win.
Already, you can see how the 18-year-old is similar to Cunha, with the threat he offers in the final third. Described as a “dynamic” attacker by Academy Scoop over on X, he is a threatening ball-carrier, just like Cunha has shown for United this season.
The other similarity comes in the versatility Lusale offers. According to Transfermarkt, he is a winger by trade and has featured on both flanks for the Red Devils. He can also operate as a number ten, which really draws comparisons to Cunha.
The Brazilian is surely going to be an instant hit for United, and has shown glimpses of his best form before getting derailed by injury.
To be brewing a homemade version of Cunha in Lusale is exciting for United fans, especially if he can turn out to be as deadly as their number 10.
