Manchester United sign Matheus Cunha as Ruben Amorim lands first summer deal | OneFootball

Wolves forward is swapping Molineux for Old Trafford on a five-year contract after £62.5m release clause triggered

Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves.

He is reported to have agreed a five-year contract until 2030 that includes a club option for a further 12 months beyond that.

They added: “Everyone at Manchester United looks forward to welcoming Matheus to Old Trafford.”

United have triggered the £62.5million release clause in a four-and-a-half year contract extension only signed by Cunha at Molineux back in February, reportedly agreeing earlier this week to Wolves’ demands that the money be paid in three instalments over the next two seasons as per that deal, rather than spread over five instead.

Wolves have also confirmed what is a club-record deal for them, writing: “Everyone at Wolves would like to thank Matheus for his contributions in old gold and wish he and his family the best of luck for the future.”

Cunha spent two-and-a-half years at Wolves after initially joining on loan from Atletico Madrid in January 2023, scoring 33 goals in 92 total appearances across all competitions.

He began his career in Brazil with Coritiba and moved to Europe with Swiss side FC Sion in 2017, also playing in the Bundesliga for both RB Leipzig and Hertha Berlin. Cunha has one goal in 13 senior caps for Brazil to date.

This season, he netted 17 times in 36 outings for Wolves, helping them to comfortably avoid relegation from the Premier League in the end after a strong run under Gary O’Neil’s successor Vitor Pereira, having initially stayed put despite strong transfer speculation in January.

Cunha also twice landed in hot water with the Football Association (FA), handed a two-game ban and fined £80,000 after clashing with a security guard during Wolves’ 2-1 home defeat by Ipswich in December.

He also served a four-game suspension and was fined £50,000 after being sent off following an ugly altercation with Milos Kerkez after the FA Cup loss at Bournemouth in March.

Cunha is United’s first signing of what is expected to be a hugely busy summer in the transfer market, with the first of two windows opening on Sunday for 10 days ahead of the Club World Cup, which United are not involved in.

He follows left-back Patrick Dorgu as only the second signing of the Ruben Amorim era, with United also being linked with the likes of Sporting Lisbon duo Pedro Goncalves and Viktor Gyokeres as well as Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo as they desperately try to keep influential captain Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford following another lucrative offer from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

However, another important target, Ipswich striker Liam Delap, is poised to undergo a medical at Chelsea on Monday ahead of a £30m move to Stamford Bridge.