Wolves reportedly have set their sights on a potential replacement for Matheus Cunha
With comfortable Premier League survival secured for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Vitor Pereira’s main job in his first summer with the club will be to navigate a summer of major transfer dealings as the club aim to carry on from where they left off in the top-flight next campaign.
The departure of 15-goal Matheus Cunha appears probable, with Manchester United the front-runners to sign the Brazilian despite their lacklustre Europa League final defeat at the hands of Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham Hotspur. But for Wolves a payment of the 25-year-old’s £62.5m release clause would represent a club record sale, and this type of money could go a long way to strengthening the squad.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is also a target for several of the Premier League’s top clubs, with left-back a problem position for many and Wolves happening to have one of the best in the business. Wanderers still hope to sign the Algerian onto a new deal at Molineux, but have already begun to prepare for the departure of Cunha, with forward options lined up to replace the Brazil international if he completes a transfer away.
Wolverhampton Wanderers reportedly front-runners to sign Serie A ace
Wolves have been linked with a move for Lazio striker Taty Castellanos, who according to reports in Italy could be a potential target for several Premier League sides. Nottingham Forest and West Ham United have also been touted as potential destinations for the 26-year-old former New York City and Girona striker, who has struck 10 Serie A goals this term for European contenders Lazio.
Wolves are said to be the closest to securing Castellanos, with reports that Pereira’s side are the “most advanced” in a pursuit having already made contact with Lazio about the Argentine, who made his senior debut for the national team in 2024. A €30m (£25m) fee has been suggested, which would represent just a small portion of the money likely to be received for Cunha and therefore would leave plenty of room to make other squad improvements, such as in the midfield area.
How Castellanos would fit in at Molineux
While the Old Gold’s need to replace the goals of Cunha is glaring, it remains to be seen where Castellanos would fit into Pereira’s system if he were to arrive in Wolverhampton. Pereira likes to play a 3-4-2-1 formation, which has worked wonders for Wolves since his arrival at the club in December.
Jorgen Strand Larsen has been the club’s undisputed starting striker, scoring 14 Premier League goals in his debut season in England – including six goals across six consecutive wins in the club’s outstanding spring run. With the second-highest conversion rate in the Premier League, Strand Larsen is unlikely to be displaced from Wolves’ starting XI when his loan move becomes permanent next season.
Therefore Castellanos’ role would likely be to rotate with Strand Larsen and take some of the goal-scoring burden off the Norwegian. Though only deployed as a central striker at Lazio, Castellanos is capable of dropping back to link up play, meaning the Argentine could also be used to fill Cunha’s place in the team behind the lone front man. The two are very different players, however, and he would not be a direct replacement.
Castellanos once scored four goals in one game against Real Madrid whilst playing for Girona in La Liga in 2023, and Wolves fans will be hoping he can recreate similar goal-scoring form if he was to put pen to paper at Molineux.
