Leeds United set to battle Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wolves for La Liga star in January

Leeds United are facing competition from three other Premier League clubs in the race to sign Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid, according to reports.
Ben McKenna
By Ben McKenna
Published 20th Dec 2022, 10:13 BST

The Whites have been repeatedly linked with a move for the Brazilian international next month, with GOAL now reporting that Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wolves are also eyeing a possible move for the player.

The 23-year-old is predominantly a centre-forward but can operate on the left and right of a front three. Leeds and Arsenal could both be in the market for a new striker following respective injuries to Patrick Bamford and Gabriel Jesus.

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Following Leeds’ friendly win over Real Sociedad on Friday, assistant head coach René Marić was unable to put a timeframe on Bamford’s return after the forward underwent minor surgery on his groin.

Atletico Madrid's Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha (L) kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on October 18, 2022. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO CANAS/AFP via Getty Images)Atletico Madrid's Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha (L) kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on October 18, 2022. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO CANAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Atletico Madrid's Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha (L) kicks the ball during the Spanish league football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on October 18, 2022. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO CANAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Bamford has been plagued by injury since the beginning of last season and his workload has been managed carefully this campaign with the former Middlesbrough man playing 10 times in the Premier League, starting just four of those games.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes were dealt a blow earlier this month following the news Jesus had undergone knee surgery after picking up the injury in Brazil’s final group-stage game at the World Cup in Qatar.

A timescale was not put on his return but it is expected he will be sidelined for a number of months. Aston Villa and Wolves are both heading into the January window with new managers after Unai Emery and Julen Lopetegui arrived at the clubs in November.

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Cunha did not start in any of Atletico’s Champions League games this season as they were knocked out in the group stage while he started just twice in his 13 La Liga appearances. The forward worked with Jesse Marsch at RB Leipzig before joining Hertha Berlin in 2020.

He has eight international caps for Brazil but missed out on a place in the squad for the World Cup in Qatar after failing to play a complete 90 minutes in a league game for his club side this term.

Related topics:ArsenalAtletico MadridPremier LeagueWolves