Man United Closing On A Deal To Sign Brazilian Striker Matheus Cunha From Atletico Madrid.

Manchester United is close to agreeing a deal to sign Matheus Cunha Atletico Madrid.

According to reports, a deal around £42m move is close to being agreed between the two clubs for the Brazilian striker who only joined the Spanish side for £21m last summer from Hertha Berlin.

Matheus Cunha scored the Bundesliga goal of the year in 2019 for RB Leipzig against Bayer Leverkusen after a stunning turn and chip.

The goal was also nominated for the Puskas Award.

Cunha signed a five-year deal with the Spanish club but did not exactly make an instant impact in his first season in Spain.

He played just eight games for the La Liga giants with 29 league appearances in total, which yielded six goals and four assists at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Earlier on, European football journalist, Julien Laurens confirmed that Cunha is on United's shortlist of strikers and that he would be interested in the move to Old Trafford.

“Matheus Cunha is a target for Manchester United. He is on their shortlist for the forward position.”

“He still has four years left in his contract with Atletico Madrid, but would be keen to join United.”

Sources added that Cunha is keen to join United to increase his playing opportunities as he tries to get into Tite's Brazil squad for the World Cup in November. He has made seven international caps so far.

He is a gold medal winner at the Olympic Games. He led Brazil’s under-23 side to the win in Tokyo last year.

His record at under-23 level for Brazil is prolific, with 21 goals in 24 matches, which broke a record previously held by Ronaldinho.

Nevertheless, the Red Devils are reportedly keen on bringing the 23-year-old to the Premier League to bolster their attacking options and recover from an already disastrous start to the new season.

With the ability to play as a lone striker, alongside another forward or in wide positions, Cunha fits the profile of player that United manager Erik ten Hag is looking for.

The mood is pretty bad and negative right now, and everyone expected at least 2-3 more signings at this point in the transfer market, including part of the team.

Liverpool reportedly tried to sign Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid, only for their approach to be rejected, which led to them moving for Porto forward Luis Diaz instead. 

Cunha would become the third signing of the Ten Hag era in what many fans consider a failed and frustrating summer transfer window.

However, talkSPORTt reports that any deal that would facilitate Cunha’s arrival at the Theatre of Dreams does not include Cristiano Ronaldo going the other way.

“It’s understood the deal for Matheus Cunha will not involve any swap for Cristiano Ronaldo.”