Manchester United’s transfer fee for Matheus Cunha has seemingly changed, with an agreement with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and the player’s personal terms now close.
Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha as Rúben Amorim’s first summer addition.
The 25-year-old Brazilian, who has spent two and a half seasons in the Premier League with Wolves, is set to embark on a new chapter at United this summer.
Amorim intends to deploy Cunha as the left-sided forward in his front three, with Amad returning as the first-choice right-winger and either Rasmus Højlund or a new striker leading the line.
The club have also been closely linked with Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, who has a £30 million release clause and is reportedly set to pick his next club before he heads off to the U21s European Championships with England in June.
Cunha’s summer price tag has changed
It is well known that Cunha has a £62.5 million release clause in his current contract, with Wolves happy to let the player leave this summer if they receive this fee.
However, with United suffering from very tight finances this summer and being forced to work on a budget, the club have entered into negotiations with Wolves to see if it is possible to pay the release clause in instalments rather than up front.
According to the Brazilian journalist Valentin Furlan, two sides are now expected to settle on an agreement of around a £62.5 million transfer fee paid in instalments, but with United also committing to an extra £5 million in add-ons to compensate for the fee not being paid up front.
This is a similarly structured deal to the one agreed with Bologna for the transfer of Joshua Zirkzee last summer, where United agreed to pay £36 million in instalments rather than his £34 million release clause up front.
Personal terms close despite late attempt from Arsenal
Further, Furlan’s report states that personal terms are close to being agreed between the player and club despite a late attempt to hijack the transfer from Premier League rivals Arsenal.
Arsenal are known to be big fans of Cunha and are looking to sign new goalscoring talent this summer, but have seemingly kicked into gear a little too late to secure the Brazilian.
While Furlan does not detail the figure Cunha is expected to earn at United, previous reports have put his likely wage at around £200,000 a week, over double what he currently earns at Wolves.
This fee puts him as United’s third-highest earner once Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho depart. This is also a little over the £190,000 a week Harry Maguire earns, and £195,000 a week in Matthijs de Ligt’s contract.
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