Virgil van Dijk has spotted something about Matheus Cunha’s role for Wolves which could be of interest to Liverpool

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Liverpool fans had perhaps not expected to see Wolves run them so close at Anfield on Sunday.

Vitor Pereira’s team have been struggling all season and find themselves just outside the Premier League’s relegation zone with 13 games left to play.

Nevertheless, Wolves clearly have a number of very good players within their squad.

Andre Trindade almost joined Liverpool in 2023, for example, while the Reds have been heavily linked with Rayan Ait Nouri as well.

Another player who could potentially be of interest to Liverpool is star forward Matheus Cunha.

The Reds are likely to be looking for a new attacker this summer and after what Virgil van Dijk has said about Cunha following Sunday’s game, the Brazilian should be very much on their radar.

Virgil van Dijk notices ‘free’ Matheus Cunha role

Arne Slot praised Cunha in the build-up to Sunday’s game, leading to whisperings that the 25-year-old could be the ideal profile for the Liverpool head coach.

Slot wants his central attacker to be a facilitator as well as a goal scorer, and as he saw up close this weekend, that is exactly what Cunha is.

Van Dijk called Cunha the ‘danger man‘ immediately after the game, but in quotes from the Liverpool ECHO, the Reds captain went a little further, outlining the role he saw the former Atletico player performing for Wolves at Anfield.

“It’s Wolves. If you have seen Wolves over the last games, Arsenal when they played them, they are very difficult in one-v-ones,” Van Dijk began.

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“Cunha is given a free role so he can run everywhere. Sometimes when you are open they can hurt you.”

At Liverpool, where there is more structure and better players around him, Cunha would not be given the same kind of role.

But what it does indicate is that the Brazil international is someone capable of playing across the forward line and drifting in to pockets of space. That could suit Liverpool.

Could Liverpool sign Cunha?

Based on his performance on Sunday, we think plenty of Liverpool fans will have seen the light regarding Cunha.

The Wolves man looks virtually certain to leave Molineux this summer whether Pereira’s team go down or not. Cunha has a release clause in his contract and that could appeal to Liverpool.

Clearly, he is not a number nine in the mould of a Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak or others regularly linked with Liverpool.

But Cunha is certainly someone who could lead the line, while also bouncing around in a more ‘free’ role, facilitating others such as, hopefully, Mohamed Salah.

There is even argument that Cunha could slot into the Liverpool midfield and play in the more advanced number 10 role currently occupied by Dominik Szoboszlai. With his skillset, the possibilities are very much open.

Van Dijk seems to realise that and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Reds recruitment team do as well.