Matheus Cunha | Deal close with United (Sky Sports)

[dinostar77]

I hope it is paper made bullshit and there is no truth to it. I don't see him being a success here. Not for me.

There's so much talk about this deal that I would think it's the deal that will most likely happen. Seems inevitable. All depends on result of the 100m playoff may 21st game against Spurs.

 

[devilish]

Rashford and Sancho will not be here next season no matter what.

Sancho

Are you advocating we wait until we've sold Rashford and Sancho before signing him? This would run the risk of him going elsewhere and getting less time to train with the squad if those transfers weren't concluded quickly. The club has clearly made a decision that neither Rashford and Sancho are returning and attempting to do what fans have been begging for years which is have our transfer plans organised and wrapped up as quickly as possible.

Mount has barely kicked a ball in 2 years due to injury, it'll be great if he can get fit and contribute but making him a key part of our plans going forward hoping he stays fit would be sheer negligence.

I disagree that Mainoo is a 10 but that's another debate. Garnacho simply isn't good enough to be starting, maybe he can develop into someone who is but his productivity is miles off good enough.

If we go into next season with Cunha/Delap/Amad as a front line with Mount/Garnacho/Zirkzee as options along with the possibility of playing Bruno/Mainoo here if needs must we'd be a much better team than this season.

we simply have too many bodies in the no 10 role. Now what financially responsible clubs tend to do is to sell before they buy. Else they risk having potential buyers giving us silly bids because they know that we are desperate to sell

 

[Fortitude]

The question you have to ask is what is he as a player now that makes him worth more than that, that he wasn't then? Very often clubs fall into the trap of paying for what players have done at the selling club rather than seriously asking what he will provide for them.

Even accounting for the fact that Cunha has probably seen half of his best physical years left at Wolves, we'll be paying him a lot more than they are and he'll very likely have no resale value; has he improved enough as a player since then that probably 2/3rds of the remaining product is worth a third more than the whole?

The easy answer is 'that's what we have to pay to get him', I suppose. But there is definitely a question of if we really should.

He has scored and assisted a lot of goals in the PL over 2 seasons, is what he's done - the sum they got him for was just the entrance fee and he's obviously made good on that. He's met and bettered that initial worth.

The bolded is the conundrum. If he's got what he has shown as base level that won't desert him or be some purple patch, then the answer is that he'll make good on that valuation by transferring his output to us. If he makes another leap, he's worth more than the £62m paid.

I'm not sure where I stand on the player and I don't think he inspires me enough to go digging for assessment, but if he's definitely coming here, will invest more time to look at his game as a whole.

 

[gaffs]

Rashford and Sancho will not be here next season no matter what.

I dont think you can bank on that.

 

[Dion]

He has scored and assisted a lot of goals in the PL over 2 seasons, is what he's done - the sum they got him for was just the entrance fee and he's obviously made good on that. He's met and bettered that initial worth.

The bolded is the conundrum. If he's got what he has shown as base level that won't desert him or be some purple patch, then the answer is that he'll make good on that valuation by transferring his output to us. If he makes another leap, he's worth more than the £62m paid.

I'm not sure where I stand on the player and I don't think he inspires me enough to go digging for assessment, but if he's definitely coming here, will invest more time to look at his game as a whole.

I guess that's what I'm getting at. What was Wolves assumption when they bought him? I suspect they thought he would score and assist a few themselves as well. Has he cleared that expectation to such a clear degree that his effective worth has doubled even with the other caveats discussed above?

 

[Withnail]

I guess that's what I'm getting at. What was Wolves assumption when they bought him? I suspect they thought he would score and assist a few themselves as well. Has he cleared that expectation to such a clear degree that his effective worth has doubled even with the other caveats discussed above?

Wolves paid £44m and his release clause is £62.5m. What do you mean by effective worth?

 

[TwoSheds]

I dont think you can bank on that.

I think it's a pretty safe bet. They'll go on loan again if they can't find buyers.

 

[FlawlessVictory88]

Sancho

we simply have too many bodies in the no 10 role. Now what financially responsible clubs tend to do is to sell before they buy. Else they risk having potential buyers giving us silly bids because they know that we are desperate to sell

They also tend to get business done early or else they risk having potential sellers refusing to accept anything but a silly bid because they know we're desperate to buy. See Antony/Fellaini/Casemiro/Hojlund etc

United transfers since Fergie left have been far more in the category of doing business late and massively overpaying than business done early.

I'm fine with us signing Cunha and then bringing Rashford back into the squad as competition unless we receive a suitable offer, same for Anthony. This should be the club's official stance since while ultimately I think neither are good enough to get us winning premier leagues or champions leagues they're both assets who would improve our squad and we shouldn't be paying them to play elsewhere.

 

[Fortitude]

I guess that's what I'm getting at. What was Wolves assumption when they bought him? I suspect they thought he would score and assist a few themselves as well. Has he cleared that expectation to such a clear degree that his effective worth has doubled even with the other caveats discussed above?

Two seasons of high productivity at a side that has staying in the division as their prime objective is going to alert bigger clubs practically every time; even at Brighton, two seasons of high productivity is going to alert the bigger clubs. I should think Cunha has exceeded Wolves' expectations, perhaps, or they at the very least made sure they had a contingency in place if he went on to do so with his release clause.

In isolation, his productivity to date, transposed to a bigger club would be worth every penny to them because that's the difference between possibly going up a place or three, so anyone buying him would be looking at that as base expectation - you might see the same pattern repeat on itself actually, with another release clause inserted into his new contract that protects the buying club should he go stellar.

One of the niggling issues I have with his behaviour at Wolves is that should the time come, he'd do the same again at the club he goes to. Sure, it means he's been a success, but at the same time, if he has been such a success, it's not like you would want to move him on. So that's a little irritant I have when thinking about him.

 

[Giggsyking]

I think it's a pretty safe bet. They'll go on loan again if they can't find buyers.

They don't want to be here, we don't want them here. They will end up at another club whether permanently or on loan.

 

[Ekeke]

I don't know if I've just become immune to the shock of large transfer fees - given how much we spent on Antony, Sancho, Hojlund, Maguire - even Mount, AWB, Fred etc. - £62m doesn't even feel like that big a fee any more, which is probably just a reflection of our poor transfer record than it is a reflection of reality.

But I do think this is one of the "safest" big signings we've made in a while. He's scored double figures for league goals, in the premier league, two seasons in a row, for a bottom half side. Two seasons in a row is very unlikely to be a fluke or "fortuitous", and the output we've seen at Wolves should be the minimum return we expect to get out of him, which is a big improvement on our attacking players at the moment. We know he's a good ball carrier who has skills and wins free kicks, don't see why that would change here. We know he can compete physically in this league, no reason for that to change here.

My gut feeling is he's one of those players who can establish themselves as one of the best attackers in the league if given the chance to play for a top team, maybe Mane at Southampton is a comparison although I do accept we'd do very well if he became as good as Mane. Also have to concede we're not a top team either to be fair.

Wissa, Mateta and Bowen have also reached double figures these past 2 seasons. West Ham 9th and now 17th but Bowen managed it. Crystal Palace 10th and now 12th and Mateta has managed it, Brentford were 16th and now 8th in part due to Wissa's form

So I dont think double figures for a team like that 2 seasons in a row means you're worth £62 million. I'd think Bowen, Mateta and Wissa are worth more around the £40 million mark and would be skeptical if signing them for much more

 

[SNes]

Is he an out and out number 10 or can he play in other positions? I've not watched much of wolves.

 

[didz]

Consistency. £62m is a massive amount of money to spend. You really need a special player who will deliver effectively and frequently for that kind of outlay.

The way he plays, in the realm of the middle shooters, (such as: Lampard, Gerrard, De Bruyne, Coutinho, Scholes etc. etc. ) it needs to be an actual skill you can bet the house on, rather than a fortuitous period of time/form. Basically a run-on of outperforming xG by miles like bona fide middle shooters do - the players mentioned above were absolutely lethal from anywhere inside that middle shooting range and it was intrinsic to their respective game that they could get the opposition scrambling to close them down because their threat of shooting from distance was infamous.

Is Cunha the same, or is it something that might dip with him? I don't know the answer to that, but that's probably because I haven't watched him enough to make up my mind either way. I just know that at £62m, we cannot afford to feck up again.

The other thing is his character. My feeling is he either comes here and turns into a superstar or a petulant nightmare, but "character" and Manchester United is a quirky thing as we're renowned for having oddball characters who came here and turned into legendary players, so I'm not as worried about that as I am on whether he's the real deal or not with his threat.

I mean £62m gets us a promising Serie A left back with a season of games, twice. Somebody might spend slightly less on a tidy midfielder, or alternatively a Fred. They might spend it on a title rival's cast-off striker. At the very least Cunha will probably be bigger than Jesus, so all good.

But anyway, we're talking about the talisman of a Premier League side in his prime here. Also, he dribbles past a load of players to get you up the pitch and he scores from everywhere. Find me another one of those, with all that, for less.

To be clear, I don't see him coming in and scoring 15 goals off 8xG or whatever again because that's just silly. There's over-performance and there's that, and if I did think we could just feed him xG and he'd keep doubling it year on year, I'd probably have him down as worth about five times as much. But for what we'd reasonably expect him to come in and do, I don't know where you find cheaper with the same quality.

 

[Sir Erik ten Hag]

I mean £62m gets us a promising Serie A left back with a season of games, twice. Somebody might spend slightly less on a tidy midfielder, or alternatively a Fred. They might spend it on a title rival's cast-off striker. At the very least Cunha will probably be bigger than Jesus, so all good.

But anyway, we're talking about the talisman of a Premier League side in his prime here. Also, he dribbles past a load of players to get you up the pitch and he scores from everywhere. Find me another one of those, with all that, for less.

To be clear, I don't see him coming in and scoring 15 goals off 8xG or whatever again because that's just silly. There's over-performance and there's that, and if I did think we could just feed him xG and he'd keep doubling it year on year, I'd probably have him down as worth about five times as much. But for what we'd reasonably expect him to come in and do, I don't know where you find cheaper with the same quality.

How is Cunha compared to Jack Grealish at Villa back then? Just curious.

 

[didz]

How is Cunha compared to Jack Grealish at Villa back then? Just curious.

I'd say that's a pretty good comparison and another big fee, even considering the English tax.

 

[Lennon7]

if we expect Mount to start performing, is there a need at all for Cunha? £62.5m is a lot given our current situation and just feel we’re crying out for an actual striker, a left back, a centre mid and a keeper over a player of this profile. Zirkzee can also play this role and I think he’ll end up being class.

 

[Berbasbullet]

if we expect Mount to start performing, is there a need at all for Cunha? £62.5m is a lot given our current situation and just feel we’re crying out for an actual striker, a left back, a centre mid and a keeper over a player of this profile. Zirkzee can also play this role and I think he’ll end up being class

Mount performing well for 20 minutes shouldn’t be a plan for us, he will get injured again quickly and we’re in trouble again.

 

[MaxZorin]

Not fussed at all by Cunha. A player in a position we seemed stocked in. May need to move a useful prospect on to afford him, too.

Also, he's not really that good. Fair enough, he's had a good season but that's about it. Serious questions about his attitude remain.

 

[Fortitude]

Wissa, Mateta and Bowen have also reached double figures these past 2 seasons. West Ham 9th and now 17th but Bowen managed it. Crystal Palace 10th and now 12th and Mateta has managed it, Brentford were 16th and now 8th in part due to Wissa's form

So I dont think double figures for a team like that 2 seasons in a row means you're worth £62 million. I'd think Bowen, Mateta and Wissa are worth more around the £40 million mark and would be skeptical if signing them for much more

That's nice to say, but those clubs are not selling players who are performing so well for them in the PL for those kind of prices.

Bowen would be here for £40m, even.

 

[Shark]

Not fussed at all by Cunha. A player in a position we seemed stocked in. May need to move a useful prospect on to afford him, too.

Also, he's not really that good. Fair enough, he's had a good season but that's about it. Serious questions about his attitude remain.

Been completely out of the loop on this, is it off??

 

[sullydnl]

Have doubts about Cunha, but given we've been linked to someone like Semenyo as an alternative I'd worry that I'd be even less convinced by who we sign if we don't get Cunha.

 

[Malone_Post]

I think £62.5 million for a player of his quality and age is a fair price and pretty much the going rate thesedays.

The issue isn’t his ability, it’s his attitude and mentality. We’ve literally got Wolves fans in this very thread talking about how he can spend games walking around doing nothing etc Add that to the off the field issues he’s had arguing with fans on Twitter and the two suspensions he’s had this season. The red flags are screaming out.

We’ve currently got two players out on loan who we are desperate to get rid off for some of the exact same reasons and yet we’re going to spend big money on yet another potentially volatile character? It just feels like another case of the club becoming obsessed with a player, turning the blinkers on, and ignoring all the red flags again.

I’d feel much more comfortable going for a player like Mbuemo who has the ability and seemingly the right mentality too.

 

[Idxomer]

if we expect Mount to start performing, is there a need at all for Cunha? £62.5m is a lot given our current situation and just feel we’re crying out for an actual striker, a left back, a centre mid and a keeper over a player of this profile. Zirkzee can also play this role and I think he’ll end up being class.

We're crying out for goals, and I see that many of the strikers on the market have worse scoring records than Cunha.

 

[Ekeke]

That's nice to say, but those clubs are not selling players who are performing so well for them in the PL for those kind of prices.

Bowen would be here for £40m, even.

And you know that how?

 

[Cantona of Lagos]

I think £62.5 million for a player of his quality and age is a fair price and pretty much the going rate thesedays.

The issue isn’t his ability, it’s his attitude and mentality. We’ve literally got Wolves fans in this very thread talking about how he can spend games walking around doing nothing etc Add that to the off the field issues he’s had arguing with fans on Twitter and the two suspensions he’s had this season. The red flags are screaming out.

We’ve currently got two players out on loan who we are desperate to get rid off for some of the exact same reasons and yet we’re going to spend big money on yet another potentially volatile character? It just feels like another case of the club becoming obsessed with a player, turning the blinkers on, and ignoring all the red flags again.

I’d feel much more comfortable going for a player like Mbuemo who has the ability and seemingly the right mentality too.

I really enjoy watching Mbeumo too, and seems tailor-made for us, both as the right-sided attacking midfielder or on the right in a different formation, but unless Amad is being converted into a right wing back, I don't think Mbeumo is happening. Right-sided AM is likely reserved for Amad from next season.

 

[Fortitude]

I mean £62m gets us a promising Serie A left back with a season of games, twice. Somebody might spend slightly less on a tidy midfielder, or alternatively a Fred. They might spend it on a title rival's cast-off striker. At the very least Cunha will probably be bigger than Jesus, so all good.

But anyway, we're talking about the talisman of a Premier League side in his prime here. Also, he dribbles past a load of players to get you up the pitch and he scores from everywhere. Find me another one of those, with all that, for less.

To be clear, I don't see him coming in and scoring 15 goals off 8xG or whatever again because that's just silly. There's over-performance and there's that, and if I did think we could just feed him xG and he'd keep doubling it year on year, I'd probably have him down as worth about five times as much. But for what we'd reasonably expect him to come in and do, I don't know where you find cheaper with the same quality.

This is the question, isn't it? I see £62m and I get the jitters because the outlay is enormous relative to the budget I believe we'll have. This might be our most expensive signing of the summer (assuming Gyokeres doesn't want to come), which would elevate him somewhat.

I don't think £62m gets you Wharton, but it gets Palace to the table, for example. In that kind of price bracket, I'm thinking you go out looking for the best players for the positions you seek to improve. Cunha might even be our vision of that, but I'm not sure about that from a personal perspective (undecided).

If he's a bona fide talent, it's a no-brainer, but how many think this is hot form and a purple patch rather than a dead cert in the ascendancy?

 

[Fortitude]

And you know that how?

Know what how?

 

[didz]

This is the question, isn't it? I see £62m and I get the jitters because the outlay is enormous relative to the budget I believe we'll have. This might be our most expensive signing of the summer (assuming Gyokeres doesn't want to come), which would elevate him somewhat.

I don't think £62m gets you Wharton, but it gets Palace to the table, for example. In that kind of price bracket, I'm thinking you go out looking for the best players for the positions you seek to improve. Cunha might even be our vision of that, but I'm not sure about that from a personal perspective (undecided).

If he's a bona fide talent, it's a no-brainer, but how many think this is hot form and a purple patch rather than a dead cert in the ascendancy?

I don't see those things as mutually exclusive. And I think his purple patch is partly explained by Wolves' lack of attacking talent. A previously hardworking player suddenly tracking back less and seeing an uptick in numbers is usually an indication the manager sees their energy best spent elsewhere and is reaping the rewards. With that and the high xG over-performance I think we need to be realistic about what to expect from Cunha. But I also think we need to be realistic about what to expect from this market.

As to the outlay in relation to the budget, I would say that for the team that struggles to create chances and score goals, the player who can score them from nothing is probably a good investment. You couldn't feed Hojlund with airplane noises, so it'll be nice for Bruno to get the odd assist from just rolling the ball to somebody.

 

[NotThatSoph]

This is the question, isn't it? I see £62m and I get the jitters because the outlay is enormous relative to the budget I believe we'll have. This might be our most expensive signing of the summer (assuming Gyokeres doesn't want to come), which would elevate him somewhat.

I don't think £62m gets you Wharton, but it gets Palace to the table, for example. In that kind of price bracket, I'm thinking you go out looking for the best players for the positions you seek to improve. Cunha might even be our vision of that, but I'm not sure about that from a personal perspective (undecided).

If he's a bona fide talent, it's a no-brainer, but how many think this is hot form and a purple patch rather than a dead cert in the ascendancy?

His output this season is obviously a purple patch, there's no real question about that. To continue scoring this amount of goals going forward, he's going to need more and/or better goalscoring opportinuties. If he can "just" keep his effectiveness from last season that would be pretty good, this season's is not happening.

The question people should ask themselves, and the question people at United presumably already have, is if this year's performances but with 6-10 league goals instead of 15 would be good enough.

 

[Ekeke]

Know what how?

You stated those teams wouldnt sell well performing premier league players for £40 million and then said at £40 million Bowen would be at Utd

So lets stick to the Bowen example

£40 million for Bowen would be West Ham's 2nd highest transfer fee ever after Rice

Its also more than their 2nd highest paid transfer, after Haller (£42.3 million) as that's Killman at just under £40 million. Its lots of money for them and they have limited time to get that amount of money after the player is 25, he's 28 now.

So how do you know that 1) West Ham wouldnt sell well performing premier league players for that price when history says otherwise with the players theyve sold other than 1 very young midfielder that multiple top clubs wanted and 2) That we would sign him if he was available at that price?

You stated it as a fact with no reasoning

 

[DJ_21]

This seems to have gone quiet recently. We still planning on signing him?

 

[Remember the geese]

This seems to have gone quiet recently. We still planning on signing him?

It will happen. We just won't hear any significant progress until the season is over.

 

[LeonDion]

The question you have to ask is what is he as a player now that makes him worth more than that, that he wasn't then? Very often clubs fall into the trap of paying for what players have done at the selling club rather than seriously asking what he will provide for them.

Even accounting for the fact that Cunha has probably seen half of his best physical years left at Wolves, we'll be paying him a lot more than they are and he'll very likely have no resale value; has he improved enough as a player since then that probably 2/3rds of the remaining product is worth a third more than the whole?

The easy answer is 'that's what we have to pay to get him', I suppose. But there is definitely a question of if we really should.

The question you’d actually have to ask is why selling club would sell at same fee as paid for player.

Seriously this guy will change some opinions quickly when he plays. His stats are good…but really he just better player than most of what we have and will improve us. This is key to us actually getting better.

 

[EtH]

This is the question, isn't it? I see £62m and I get the jitters because the outlay is enormous relative to the budget I believe we'll have. This might be our most expensive signing of the summer (assuming Gyokeres doesn't want to come), which would elevate him somewhat.

I don't think £62m gets you Wharton, but it gets Palace to the table, for example. In that kind of price bracket, I'm thinking you go out looking for the best players for the positions you seek to improve. Cunha might even be our vision of that, but I'm not sure about that from a personal perspective (undecided).

If he's a bona fide talent, it's a no-brainer, but how many think this is hot form and a purple patch rather than a dead cert in the ascendancy?

Admittedly I’ve watched him play maybe ten times at most but from that and MOTD and even his highlight videos I’m just not that impressed. Yes he can score a wonder goal and do it with either foot. Aside from that I don’t see much that stands out. And where was this ball-striking ability before ? It’s a skillset that players normally come through with from a young age. I just feel like he’s hit a rich vein of form and we’ll be lucky if he replicates it for us. But the long and short of it is there are just too many questions over his true level and attitude to make him a priority signing this summer.

 

[NLunited]

Admittedly I’ve watched him play maybe ten times at most but from that and MOTD and even his highlight videos I’m just not that impressed.

His numbers are impressive. Exactly what we should be looking for.

But the long and short of it is there are just too many questions over his true level and attitude to make him a priority signing this summer.

Perhaps, perhaps not. Any signing is a gamble. All we can do is do our homework and not grossly overpay.

 

[Fortitude]

I don't see those things as mutually exclusive. And I think his purple patch is partly explained by Wolves' lack of attacking talent. A previously hardworking player suddenly tracking back less and seeing an uptick in numbers is usually an indication the manager sees their energy best spent elsewhere and is reaping the rewards. With that and the high xG over-performance I think we need to be realistic about what to expect from Cunha. But I also think we need to be realistic about what to expect from this market.

As to the outlay in relation to the budget, I would say that for the team that struggles to create chances and score goals, the player who can score them from nothing is probably a good investment. You couldn't feed Hojlund with airplane noises, so it'll be nice for Bruno to get the odd assist from just rolling the ball to somebody.

From your previous post:

To be clear, I don't see him coming in and scoring 15 goals off 8xG or whatever again because that's just silly. There's over-performance and there's that, and if I did think we could just feed him xG and he'd keep doubling it year on year, I'd probably have him down as worth about five times as much. But for what we'd reasonably expect him to come in and do, I don't know where you find cheaper with the same quality.

What would you be happy with from a £62m attacking player in terms of output?

Would you say it is unrealistic to expect c. £60m to either get you an upcoming S-tier attacking midfielder (a Yoro equivalent for attack) or a player rounding into his prime, not currently at a final destination club? For example, that same amount, would you think it unrealistic to be enough to entice someone like Guler here from Madrid?

£60m+ is not in the astronomical bracket, but it's the next rung down. I know we've thrown those kind of amounts around like confetti the last few seasons, but look at the ridicule that has been placed upon us and those players for doing so, sans Sancho, those thereabout signings we acquired have generally been torn to shreds for costing so much.

 

[dinostar77]

Been completely out of the loop on this, is it off??

Nope, it's a dead cert as dead certs get. Even if we don't get CL, he wants to come here and we really want him.

 

[Fortitude]

His output this season is obviously a purple patch, there's no real question about that. To continue scoring this amount of goals going forward, he's going to need more and/or better goalscoring opportinuties. If he can "just" keep his effectiveness from last season that would be pretty good, this season's is not happening.

The question people should ask themselves, and the question people at United presumably already have, is if this year's performances but with 6-10 league goals instead of 15 would be good enough.

I'd be unhappy with that from a £60m signing, personally, unless it comes with equivalent assist numbers, a high level of dribbling and ball retention competency and a player who constantly opens the field up for others.

You stated those teams wouldnt sell well performing premier league players for £40 million and then said at £40 million Bowen would be at Utd

So lets stick to the Bowen example

£40 million for Bowen would be West Ham's 2nd highest transfer fee ever after Rice

Its also more than their 2nd highest paid transfer, after Haller (£42.3 million) as that's Killman at just under £40 million. Its lots of money for them and they have limited time to get that amount of money after the player is 25, he's 28 now.

So how do you know that 1) West Ham wouldnt sell well performing premier league players for that price when history says otherwise with the players theyve sold other than 1 very young midfielder that multiple top clubs wanted and 2) That we would sign him if he was available at that price?

You stated it as a fact with no reasoning

Bowen is worth [way] more to West Ham than £40m. He's a vital player for them and captain who constantly gees up others. I wouldn't go as far as to say talismanic, but I would say they wouldn't look at that kind of fee as commensurate to what he provides, nor that they could replace what he does for that kind of money.

A tireless, athletic, hard-working wide player who chips in with goals and assists for £40m who is decidedly PL class - I think it's a given we'd have him here as he represents a bargain at that price and we're far from sorted on the flanks. I can add 'imo' as of course it's just my opinion. West Ham don't often have players much bigger sides would covet. Kudus, Rice, Bowen are not the norm for them, which kind of skews your assessment by numbers.

 

[EtH]

Perhaps, perhaps not. Any signing is a gamble. All we can do is do our homework and not grossly overpay.

And I hope after doing our homework we see that Cunha is a risk we are in no position to be taking this summer.

 

[didz]

From your previous post:


What would you be happy with from a £62m attacking player in terms of output?

Would you say it is unrealistic to expect c. £60m to either get you an upcoming S-tier attacking midfielder (a Yoro equivalent for attack) or a player rounding into his prime, not currently at a final destination club? For example, that same amount, would you think it unrealistic to be enough to entice someone like Guler here from Madrid?

£60m+ is not in the astronomical bracket, but it's the next rung down. I know we've thrown those kind of amounts around like confetti the last few seasons, but look at the ridicule that has been placed upon us and those players for doing so, sans Sancho, those thereabout signings we acquired have generally been torn to shreds for costing so much.

You'd be targeting 15 again in a healthy season, sure, but I'd still say double figures is likely a success depending on everything else. He's not just goals.

We probably could get Guler if we really wanted to but I think Cunha would be the better signing. We know he can play in 30 Premier League games every season which we've hopefully learnt is both an undervalued trait and an important thing to check. We know he can decide matches at Old Trafford too, which we can't say about most of the players who play there every week. That's pedigree to go with the potential to take the next step up the ladder, if we're really lucky maybe even in Raphinha-like fashion. I think Cunha's the right sort of age to be targeting for the big money transfers, where we have a both a body of evidence and a realistic expectation that he'll maintain his level over a 5-year contract and still be useful to somebody afterwards.

Its not just us who've thrown it around, it's everyone, which is why I didn't just point to our own expensive signings. I do think people are quick to only look at the value of signings in hindsight and at the time £70m for Sancho didn't really seem that bizarre from what I recall. Look what Bundesliga's best is going for now. The Cunha cost is Marmoush money, and I'd rather have the Brazilian than him.